Gambling Hearts
by meekobuggy
Summary: Bella hits a major reality check when Edward breaks up with her. She had some hard truths about life to come to terms with and made some decisions about her life that changed. Eventually she grows up, becoming a different woman, moving back to her father's home town of Starling City to help rebuild with her company, starting a new adventure. Bella/Oliver, AU, M for future content.
1. 01: Seattle

****Summary: Bella hits a major reality check when Edward breaks up with her in high school, leading to her falling gravely ill, requiring hospitalization. During that time, she had some hard truths about life to come to terms with and made some decisions about her life that changed. She does everything to become exactly what would have been to become what would have been Edward's ideal partner, if only to give him the ultimate F-U in life and is one of the country's most successful young business women around with her own security firm. Extended family in Starling City reaches out to Charlie about them moving back and the two accept, as well as helping out some old friends, but that's only when things begin to get interesting. No one is really who they seem to be anymore and everyone has their secrets.****

**Author Note: Some readers tend to think of Bella as Kristen Stewart from the movies. However, we (Meeko & Buggy) as well as many of our fellow Twilight-crossover friends tend to have different views of how we picture our preferred Bella. For the purposes of this story, our Bella is a bit more – sexy. Her character image is portrayed by that of Sarah Shahi as she is older and with a lot more attitude and brass. You can see her character image as it is linked on our profile page. While she will exhibit some traditional traits of what we know of Bella, face it. The book/movie version sucks. And for those of you that can't stand Edward – fear not. He's virtually non-existent here, as are most of the Cullens. This story is kinda all-human. Bella is a gifted individual, from the _Arrow_-fandom side, meta-human, with her shield. We are throwing out a lot of the normal rules and creating our own. We can assure it will be an interesting ride and we hope you enjoy it! **

**The story is almost entirely canon for _Arrow_ for Season 1 & 2 with some minor tweaking to backgrounds to write in Bella's relationship to the Lance family and goes AU from there as we divert from the story (No Olicity Zone) and is entirely AU for _Twilight_.  
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**Disclaimer: We own nothing from _Arrow_ or _Twilight_. Actually, we _really_ don't want to own _anything _of Twilight to be honest, but wouldn't mind having Oliver tied up in one of our beds...alas, but a fantasy, so all we can do is pretend, with words. The plot is ours alone. **

**~o.O.o~**

Whenever Bella thought about the events that set her on the path to her current life, she found she had mixed feelings on the whole affair. For the most part, in regards to Edward, initially she was raging mad. Nowadays, she was mostly apathetic when she had to listen to his father attempt to sell his son's accomplishments to her.

As if she would ever be taking him back. It was her now with the name and power in Seattle. Edward thought he would be moving onto greener pastures when his family announced they would be moving from Forks, but Bella got a taste of revenge in incriminates as she had kept in contact with his sister. Learning that he lied to the family about how he broke up with her pissed both Bella and Rosalie off, and despite the two not always seeing eye to eye before, the way Edward had verbally assaulted and demeaned the girl the way he did was so unbecoming that it came as a surprise.

What cut even deeper, especially to Rosalie, was the way the cold hearted bastard just abandoned the teenaged girl in the middle of the woods on the cusp of a dangerous thunderstorm, mirroring the night of her own brutal rape that occurred only a year before that she was still in therapy over. Traumatic events like those would create bonds that wouldn't have been there before and Bella had a new Cullen fighting in her corner for years to come.

Carlisle and Esme Cullen, not wanting to tarnish their family's good name in the media, had been quick to make a visit to the Swan household once word reached them via their own daughter about how Bella had fallen severely ill from exposure due to their son's actions and they practically offered them anything they wanted for silence.

Charlie Swan only wanted the family gone from his daughter's life and was no more shocked than the Cullens themselves when she announced she wanted not only Edward's trust fund, but any other discretionary investment she requests in the future for capital, without any expectation from them for repayment or involvement in whatever business she chooses to pursue after she graduates college. That on top of them covering her medical bills that they had incurred. Once she had their agreement in writing, and several phone calls and voice-mails of threats that Bella was smart enough to save to disc for posterity, Edward and his family were gone.

Rosalie had kept in touch and for that, Bella was always grateful. The girl had gotten a kick out of the amount of money that she had managed to drain from her parents as they complained about it enough at home. Edward had reacted more negatively than anyone because he no longer had the money he had expected he would despite their parents' promise to still fund his college tuition, but beyond that he was on his own for rent and extracurriculars.

Bella wasn't stupid. Even with her new found wealth, she used the money wisely. Even though she selected the best school with an expensive tuition, it offered the highest quality education she could ever dream of. She excelled at her studies, and never lost her focus, wanting to finish as early as possible. Taking as many classes as she could manage, and attending through the summer, she graduated at the top of her class early.

She worked with her father in researching the company that would soon become one of the fastest growing private security firms based out of Seattle. With her young age and the fact that she was a woman, Bella was often turned away early on and Charlie stepped in for many early meetings before they performed something of a 'bait and switch' when she would sweep in and knock everyone off their feet with her plans.

At twenty seven years old, Isabella Swan was a household name and Swan Security was the leading provider for personal protection for all levels of clientele. It was the one thing that Bella was adamant about. They would find a way to offer their services if the person really needed it and they had private investigators on staff that would look into their potential clients before taking them on if the risk was worth it.

The company continued to grow and as she sat in her office reviewing reports, she never anticipated the turn it would take when her father entered her office with a proposal that had her considering leaving the city she loved so much.

"Bella," Charlie greeted roughly as he fell into the worn out leather chair that was unofficially reserved beside her desk for him.

"Dad," she replied casually, not removing her eyes from the computer. "Is there something I can do for you or are you here just to bother me today?"

He was quiet for a few minutes which made caused her to look up at him curiously. "When was the last time you spoke with your cousin in Starling City?" he asked.

"Laurel? I don't know. Last year or something? Maybe a little longer? She called to let me know that her ex-boyfriend that she thought was dead was actually alive," Bella shrugged. "Damn bastard should have stayed dead for all I care."

"Figured as much. Well, you might want to call her and catch up then because I heard from Quentin and things aren't sounding too good out there. I'm thinking about heading back for awhile Bells," Charlie admitted sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Ehh - he also said that Sara is alive too…"

Bella sat as she stared down at her desk, not saying a word as she let the information sink in. She had heard the story of how the playboy Queen kid cheated on Laurel with Sara on that trip and everyone was lost at sea. The entire family had been torn apart as a result. When her father and her went to Starling City for the memorial for everyone, she could barely stand Moira Queen and the haughty attitude the woman had and she wasn't eager to have to deal with that family again any time soon. Especially her good for nothing son who was no different than her own ex for all she was concerned. "I'll call Laurel and see what is going on. She's still working with legal aid there, right?"

"I don't know. He didn't say. All he said was that the Glades is nothing like what it used to be and that they just need help, period. He said they have someone that is doing what he can, but its' overwhelming. I couldn't understand everything he was mumbling."

Bella let out a frustrated sigh. It was one of her peeves when people couldn't communicate clearly or were deliberately evasive with her. She knew it wasn't Charlie but a part of her couldn't help but feel that something was off about the whole thing. Maybe it was the part of her that made _her_ different, that drove her to want to go there now that she knew something was different. Either way, Charlie knew that her sense of honor and family was triggered and she couldn't deny him.

"Go set up the arrangements for the flight. Sometime next week though. There's too much that we have to finish up here that will take time and accounts that need to be transferred and taken care of before we leave," she stressed as she began to mentally make a list of all the things she needed to deal with now that she would be leaving the Seattle branch of her company to someone else's care.

"Right then Bells. I'll let you know when I have that info," he said as he got up and headed back out, her eyes following him until he disappeared from sight when he closed the door behind him.

With a sigh, she sat back in her chair as she pulled out her cell phone reluctantly. Scrolling down her contact list, she found Laurel's number and hit dial. It didn't take long to hear her cousin's voice answer on the other end, though she wasn't as cheerful as she was the last time they had spoken.

"_Bella?"_ Laurel greeted her, sounding slightly confused and curious.

"Hello Laurel," Bella answered. Continuing on as if it was nothing, she spun around in her chair and looked out her window. "How are things going in Starling City? I hear your wonderful sister is back from the dead."

She could hear the girl sigh on the phone. "_Yes. She's back. I should have called you and I'm sorry. It's just been crazy here. Just - I can't even begin to tell you everything that's happened since we spoke last. Tommy is dead, Oliver's mom was killed, the city is practically a war zone. My dad got demoted because he helped a vigilante in town who I thought was a bad guy but - really - isn't. Bella… When did things get so fucked up?"_

The heartbreak and despair in her voice was unmistakable. Pinching the bridge of her nose, Bella let out the breath she'd been holding. "I don't know. Are you and your family safe at least? If you need protection, I can get you that. Or money? Or whatever you need. Just say the word and I'll get it to you. Charlie is already getting travel arrangements made for us to come out there sometime next week. I have to get some things in order with the company first before I can leave."

"_Most of the fighting is down in the Glades so we're okay as long as we stay up town. I'm okay for the most part but I'm worried about Ollie. Since his mom's death and nearly losing the family company, he's nearly drained. His club was doing great but that got destroyed and he's been trying to get that going again without luck because he has to focus on Queen Consolidated before someone else tries to take the last thing he has of his family. As it is, I think he put the house on the market but is trying to keep it hush."_

Bella let that information seep in with a smile on her lips. It was certainly something she could work with. "Look. I can't do anything about Queen Consolidated but I can loan your boyfriend the money for the club. Scratch that. Tell him I'll give him the money as an investment. I want a minimum of thirty five percent of the ownership for this. He and I can discuss details later, but that's the terms of him getting his club back in business."

Laurel stuttered for a moment on the phone as she searched for her words. "_Bella? Are you sure about this? That's a lot of money! If you do this, you know that your name is going to be stuck next to his all over the papers here, right?"_

"My name on the tabloids and magazines is nothing new Laurel. I've had to get used to it over the last few years. It sucks but comes with the territory of being successful in a male dominated world. Helps too when they think you're hot…"

"_Oh my god. Oliver is going to be shitting bricks when he sees you. Seriously! And Sara! Between the two of them...Oh! I don't think that either of them has really seen you how you are now. I mean, Dad has spoken of you every now and then after he gets off the phone with Charlie but Sara still thinks of the crazy cousin that kept tattling on her. She'll be happy to see you but she's also different lately. Geez, you just have to see everyone to understand what I mean,"_ Laurel explained.

Chuckling Bella grinned to herself as she turned back to her desk to pull up the news site for Starling City so that she could start getting an idea of what she was getting herself into. "Can you do me some favors in the meanwhile? I am going to open a new branch in Starling City if Charlie and I are going to be moving there so I need a building. I'll email you the details of what I need and see what you can find. Whatever you can find, or if it can be modified and done by the end of next week, get it done and have all the paperwork sent to my office here. Give them my cell phone number as a contact for confirmation if they need it. I'll include all the specs for designs of the offices as well."

"_Very particular, aren't you?" _her cousin chided with amusement.

"When you have the ability and the money, you have the right to be. I know what I like and what works for the company. Why change it?"

"_True. But anyway. I'll let Oliver know about your offer and get back to you if he accepts. He'd be an idiot not to and then we can get repairs underway. If we can get a company working around the clock, I think he can reopen inside a couple weeks!"_

Bella rolled her eyes at the woman's enthusiasm for the man. She recalled her crying over both the loss over him and her sister, as well as learning about his infidelity by him when they both disappeared those years ago and it was something that she just couldn't get over. Even though Sarah was back, she wanted nothing to do with the girl but the man's businesses affected many people and Laurel was insistent he wasn't the same boy he was when he left. "Just talk to him and get back to me. I don't care how much it will cost to get repairs done under whatever time crunch he's looking to do for an opening date. Just give me a time that I have to make an appearance for my part and I'll be there."

"_Thank you Bella. For everything. I'll smack some sense into Ollie if I have to and get all the legal paperwork sorted and faxed back to the office for you. Oh! And the details for your new office branch here too. I'll probably have to pull Felicity in on that one…"_

She didn't care who this Felicity was but Bella was grateful when one of her best men knocked on her door to signal for her that she was going to be late for a meeting. "Listen, Laurel? I have to run or I'm going to be late for this meeting. I'll talk to you when I can. Bye…" she hung up quickly before her cousin could say anything else. Letting out a groan, she wondered what the hell she was getting herself into by moving across the country with a large portion of her company.


	2. 02: Starling City

**Disclaimer: We own nothing from Arrow or Twilight. Actually, we **_**really**_ **don't want to own **_**anything **_**of Twilight to be honest, but wouldn't mind having Oliver tied up in one of our beds...alas, but a fantasy, so all we can do is pretend, with words. The plot is ours alone.**

**~o.O.o~**

"Wow."

"Yep."

Oliver tried to block out the voices of Laurel and Felicity as he was working up a sweat on the salmon ladder. Yes, it was great that Laurel knew about him now, about who he was, but he already had one girl that gawked at him at every opportunity that would arise and he had been thinking about kicking them out when he was going to work out.

They made him feel uneasy, like a piece of meat, not to mention he was losing his focus whenever they spoke up. Working out was what kept him alive. They should stop.

He let go of the rod and jumped down before he turned to the girls. "Don't you two have something better to do? Like, I don't know... Shopping?"

"No, no, we're good," Laurel said with a nod as she relaxed in her chair and opened a packet of chips. "I mean… wow, Ollie. I knew you were in great shape but…"

Oliver grabbed his water bottle and stared the girls down as he drank. He really wasn't in the mood for whatever game they were up to that day. Why did it ever cross his mind that it was a _good idea_ to have two non-males on the team? No, his ex-girlfriend and the girl who fancied him? Why? Was he that stupid?

"Oh, I see a certain crease forming on his forehead..." Laurel mused, pointing at Oliver, not at the least intimidated by his stare. She'd been on the receiving end of that look even before she knew that he was the vigilante and she really was not impressed. Sure, he had perfected the stare when he was away, but she was never fazed by it. "He's in a bad mood," she announced as she popped a chip into her mouth and started munched.

"Yeah, it's usually best to stay out of his way when he's like this," Felicity whispered in Laurel's ear before smiling at Oliver and making her way past him towards her computer station. She sat down with her back towards him and started to reply to some emails. She had received one of Barry the night before and she hadn't really known what to write back, but she was going to force herself to write _something_ at least, so that Oliver wouldn't take out his bad mood on her.

"Grumpy cat," Laurel said, sticking her tongue out to her friend and continued to eat her snack.

"Don't you have some work to do?" Oliver put his bottle back on the workspace and reached for the rod on the salmon ladder.

"No. Dad and I are preparing for the arrival of his cousin Charlie and Charlie's daughter Bella. You remember her, don't you?"

He looked at Laurel for a moment as he hung from the rod and then shook his head. "I don't think I do." He swung his legs for a bit, getting some momentum and climbed up.

"Are you sure?" Laurel said with a smile and crossed her legs over each other as she watched him work the ladder. "We used to play pirates, you, me, Sara, Bella, Tommy…"

Oliver grunted and climbed another level on the ladder. Hearing Tommy's name, remembering him, still hurt - especially when the name came from Laurel's mouth. Yeah, he remembered playing pirates as a kid, he just couldn't recall that Bella had been present. Oliver was always the a random character where Sara was the captain and Tommy was the hero that saved Laurel, the damsel in distress. Oliver was always the first to walk the plank.

"Yeah, I'm sure," he said as he jumped down and took the rod with him, he was going to start all over.

"Wait, you played pirates?" Felicity grinned as she swung around in her chair and beamed up to him from his chair. "Oliver Queen, playing children's games?"

"I was a child once too, Felicity." He gestured that she had to turn around again and he could see the disappointment in her face. He loved her enthusiasm, he really did but he didn't understand it most times. Placing the rod on the first bar, he started to pull himself up a few times. "What's there to arrange then?"

"Oh, you know. Making sure their new house is all clean and stuff and ready for them to move in. Supervisor kind of work, to be honest, mostly on their new building. Bella paid for everything."

"Wow, she must be rich," he grunted as he paid half attention to her story.

"Well… she has her own company that's doing well so yeah…" Laurel said as she put a handful of chips in her mouth, looking like a deer caught in headlights and alarm bells started to ring in Oliver's head.

"What aren't you telling me?" He jumped down again and grabbed a towel to dry himself off.

"Nothing."

"Laurel."

"Wait, is Isabella Swan your cousin?" Felicity said in awe. "She's this kickass, no-nonsense woman who started her own security firm and has helped rebuild countless of towns and-"

"Laurel!" Oliver shouted as he glared at her.

"Look," Laurel sighed. "I know that we have an excellent police department, but they can use a little help, you know? Starling City is still not a safe place to be and _you_ can't do everything by yourself, Ollie. Do you want to be called for a prisoner transport while there's another superhuman running amok?"

"So now I have to be aware of more people when I'm out there? Thanks, Laurel," Oliver said grumpily and pulled on his t-shirt before making his way upstairs. Despite the basement at Verdant being back to normal, the club itself was a giant mess. If he didn't get the chance to work out downstairs, a little bit of dragging shit across the space would do the trick.

He wasn't angry, really. Grumpy, quite. He hadn't been sleeping well lately as he had so many things going on around him; Verdant, Queen Consolidated, people idolizing the Hood for saving the city from the Mirakuru'ed criminals, and getting Slade out of the way. On his way down to the club this morning, he saw a school girl walk around with a cartoonified image of the Hood on her backpack. It was a strange feeling to say the least.

Yes, a new security firm in Starling City could do a lot of good. There were a lot of people around who'd pay for personal security after everything that had happened. Unfortunately that meant that more trained professionals would be in town and he had to be even more careful because those people would be extra observant. So no, he wasn't jumping for joy.

After an hour of dragging things around and trying to fix some of the walls, he realised that he couldn't fix this on his own. He was just going to have to hire a company to do it for him - once the money would come in again. Oliver was broke, there was enough money left to pay some of the bills and eat, but his company really needed to get back in good graces with everyone and earn money again.

It was weird how you get accustomed to having deep pockets when you don't even want deep pockets. Deep pockets were quite useful in times of need. Not that Oliver was in need - much. He just didn't want his friends to be penniless and that was only fixed with him having money and it sucked.

"So," Laurel's voice sounded. "Felicity told me to tell you to take a shower and to get properly dressed as they need you at Queen Consolidated."

"Yeah, fine."

"Ollie?"

"Laurel?"

"Remember I gave you the money to re-do your basement?"

"I'm not going to like this, am I?" He turned around to face her, she looked nervous.

"It's not my money." Laurel didn't dare to look at him, she was nervous and she was picking lint off her clothes. "But there's more… I received more money… to rebuild Verdant."

"Whose money is it?"

"Does it matter? You can get the club back up and running with the right help in what? Just a few days?"

"Whose money is it, Laurel?" He knew he shouldn't have taken the money in the first place, but the basement was a much better hiding place than the house. It was less visible and safe, because they could control who could come in and go out. So yeah, he had taken the money and had given his friends and himself a safe base back. _Maybe_ he had made a stupid mistake. "Better yet, will I be able to buy this person out when I have the money?"

"Probably," Laurel said with a nod. "As it is now, the person who loaned me the money said it was an investment into the club and they want 35% ownership."

"Laurel!" No, he wasn't happy. She should have come to him first.

"No, you listen to me, Oliver Queen," Laurel said, walking to him and placing her hands on his arms. His strong, muscled arms. She took a deep breath and looked up to him, his piercing eyes nearly splitting in half. "I know that you put your house on the market to provide money for you to restore Verdant and pay Diggle and Felicity and I don't want that. That house has been in your family for a long time and…"

"Laurel," his voice and face softer now, his hands gently gripping her arms and a small smile appeared on his face. "Have you ever considered that maybe… maybe I want to get rid of the house just for it being a house? Thea's not using it. She's either with Roy or at Malcolm Merlyn's place. I certainly don't use it. Maybe I'll give it away. To you and your father for example."

"Oh, no." Laurel shook her head. "Absolutely not."

"It'll probably take some time for the house to be sold, but that's okay. As long as I don't have to live in it." He smiled at her then kissed the top of her head.

"Oliver, you need a house. You're Oliver Queen, playboy, remember? How can you keep up that image when you're living in a cheap rental apartment or sleep in the basement of your club? The Arrow might not need a place to live in, but Oliver Queen does. He needs a mansion and no matter how down on his luck he is right now, that mansion stays. People will admire you for continuing to live at the place where so much tragedy has happened, it'll do your company some good."

Oliver let out a grunt as he let go of Laurel and started to make his way to the door to go downstairs. "You're right."

"As for the investor… it's Bella."

"Of course it is," Oliver sighed and then shrugged. "Yes, I'll gladly have the rest of the money to get this club back on its feet and yes, she'll get 35% of the earnings."

"Uhuh, she also said that further details will be discussed when she gets here," Laurel smiled at Oliver's back. She knew he was having a hard time accepting help from others. He always had, and it only got worse since he returned from the island. However, this was Bella. It could have been a lot worse. "Ollie, you can trust her."

"Still, I'd like you to be there on that meeting with her on my behalf." Oliver said before he opened the door and disappeared from Laurel's sight. He walked down the stairs and headed towards the shower, but Felicity stopped him. "What?"

"Phone." She said with a smile and handed him his phone. "It's a realtor… are you going to sell your house?"

"I was…" He took the phone and continued to walk to the bathroom, glad to see that his 'office clothes' were already there, accompanied by a towel. His friends were the best, really. "Oliver Queen." He spoke into the phone.

"_Mr. Queen! This is your realtor Brad Summers and I have some good news for you."_

"I was planning on withdrawing the-"

"_Someone has made an offer on your house. No, not just an offer. This person is willing to pay full price for the mansion and is willing to sign the check today."_

"Really?" He kicked off his shoes and unbuckled his pants with his free hand. After his conversation with Laurel, he could only imagine that this person was none other than Bella Swan. It would certainly save Laurel and Quentin some work, but was he willing to give up the mansion now? As Laurel had said, he needed something flashy because he had an image to uphold. He could always go for something smaller… "Before you answer that question, do you have a penthouse or something for sale?" Rich people lived in penthouses, too, didn't they?

"_As a matter of fact, I do. This one has a great view of the city even though both you and I know that the city is still a bit worse for wear and it comes with a shared underground parking garage, a living room, two bedrooms, a kitchen and a bathroom, security and a doorman always willing to go the extra mile for the residents in the building."_

Oliver had started to pull off his shirt as soon as the realtor said 'I do', and hadn't really heard the rest of the story. He wasn't going to be living in it anyway, all it needed to be was a façade and that was it. "Alright. Agree with the buyer and get me that penthouse. Today. And send a courier with the details to my office. I will be there shortly."

"_As you wish, Mr. Queen. Thank you for your business."_

"My pleasure, Brad, my pleasure." Oliver hung up the phone, slightly queasy of the pleasantries and rid himself of his socks and underwear before stepping underneath the shower to rinse off the sweat and dirt. He had a funny feeling that things were going to get a lot weirder and complicated in the near future.


	3. 03: Verdant

**Disclaimer: We own nothing from Arrow or Twilight. Actually, we **_**really**_ **don't want to own **_**anything **_**of Twilight to be honest, but wouldn't mind having Oliver tied up in one of our beds...alas, but a fantasy, so all we can do is pretend, with words. The plot is ours alone.**

**Author Note: We received an inquiry about the ages of the characters, specifically Bella and Oliver in relation to the story because of the history we had planned out for the plot. **_**Arrow**_ **is current, for all intents and purposes, between Season 2 & 3, minus the OIiver/Felicity bit. So, in keeping with some canon details, the ages are as follows: Quentin and Charlie are 50something, Diggle is 36, Oliver and Laurel are 29, Sara and Bella are 27, Roy is 23, & Thea is 19. **

**~o.O.o~**

"I don't know how you did it," John Diggle said as he joined Oliver by his side in the man's new apartment. His eyes were bright with excitement as he looked out at the view over the Starling City skyline as the sun was setting. "But this place is right up your alley."

Oliver grinned to his friend before looking back out the window. The realtor hadn't been kidding, this was a _great_ view of the city and he had easy access to roofs from his 'perch,' as Felicity lovingly called his new place. The day after the realtor had called him about the mansion getting an offer and saying he wanted the penthouse, everything was done for. Sometimes it helped to have impatient buyers. With the money he had left, he had renovators work on the penthouse on overtime and movers following the next day, leaving much of the unwanted feelings and memories behind.

And he still hadn't slept in his new bedroom, despite the new furniture and exquisite new mattress that Laurel had kindly chosen for him during one of her many shopping excursions for her cousin during the week.

As it turned out, Diggle had heard about Isabella Swan's security firm and knew they were good at what they did. He had suggested that they'd secure the basement with the help of their in house hacker in hopes to keep their system slightly ahead of everyone else. Just because the woman owned a part of Verdant now, which, in the span of that same week, had been restored to its former glory and the grand opening was that evening, didn't mean that everyone was comfortable with her having free reign over their sanctuary as well.

Oliver hadn't heard a word from Thea since she returned to town, despite him inquiring about how she was doing and telling her about the club. With her lack of communication, he put Roy in charge of recruiting and managing the bar. Roy had enough experience and he had proven himself to be reliable in the end. The only real thing that the kid had to manage about himself was his anger and dealing with people on a daily basis would help with that because some people were simply aggravating.

"Just promise me that you won't become a hermit," Diggle pointed at Oliver. "Because I can see that this place would be a fantastic way for you to be all alone, shutting yourself off from the rest of us."

"I wouldn't do that," Oliver huffed as he continued to stare out over the city, trying to think of any other way to stall or avoid the evening entirely.

Diggle just looked at him for a moment before passing his friend his coat. "You're going to be late to your own party, Mr. Queen. Shall we go?"

"Bella will be there, won't she?" He had been trying to avoid talking about her ever since he found out that she was going to own part of Verdant. It still hurt his ego to admit that he needed help to get things back to normal. Oliver was careful to not inquire about her and her company directly because a part of him didn't want to know, but his curiosity each day was growing reluctantly. Thankfully, he had Dig and Felicity to deal with those tasks.

"Yes…" Diggle answered slowly as he eyed the man. "She's confirmed her attendance earlier this week. I suspect she should be on her way, if not there already."

Oliver's face twitched with some unknown emotion as he glanced at his friend while he slipped his jacket on. "What's your take on her?"

"My take?" The man chuckled and shook his head. "You're acting as if I know the woman."

"No. I'm asking what you know because I'm certain that you and Felicity have already been looking into her since Laurel mentioned her coming to town and her offer with the club," he pointed out.

Diggle smiled and nodded as he pointed to the door. "I'll fill you in on what I know. On the way."

He didn't start talking until Oliver was in the backseat of the car and they were on the road. Maybe it was to let him stew a little with his curiosity, or maybe just because Oliver needed to get to Verdant because he needed to show his face. It was his club and his name was the local celebrity that made money there.

"Her company is legit. She even has some overseas contracts and more than often helps out the local law enforcement; this was in Seattle. There's no doubt about it that she'll offer the same help to the Starling City force," Diggle started with some facts that he remembered more vividly. Letting out a sigh, he glanced at his passenger in the rear view mirror. "She's ambitious and more than often gets what she wants. Her father is her right hand. He takes care of training the new recruits as he's a former cop. Left the force to help her with the company. Trust me when I say that even with the added security access to the basement, she'll eventually find a way around it herself because she employs a handful of the best hackers in the country."

"Will she be a risk to us?" Oliver asked with hesitation.

This was were the bodyguard was more serious as he frowned with consideration before answering. "Most definitely. You'll have to be careful around her, Oliver."

That was news that he didn't want to hear. "Why is that Diggle?"

"Hell hath no fury than a woman scorned. According to Felicity, Isabella Swan went through a rough break up with her coming out on top. She had been dating some mogul when she was listed as one of the top ten entrepreneurs in the country. Supposedly, just before the article was released, he decided to break it off and she was okay until after. He tried crawling back when he realized what a big name he had let slip through his fingers. The guy was an idiot to not know who he had for a girlfriend or she kept her business and personal life very well separated at the time. The media often refers to it as cutting off her ex-boyfriend's balls, but I'm sure they don't mean that literally. Regardless, something happened that they ended up taking one another to court and she came out the victor, with most of the company transferred to her name. It wouldn't have mattered as it was just merely absorbed into her business as a new investment. She's a woman and you know as well as I do that women are dangerous. Especially ones with money and power."

Oliver sighed as he let his head fall back against the seat, wondering what the hell he had gotten himself into. "Ah well, luckily, Roy is Verdant's manager. Hopefully, she'll deal with him more than I would have to."

"Sure, but you keep forgetting that she's Laurel and Sara's cousin. You won't be able to avoid her forever, " Diggle laughed as he turned on the radio to cover the groan from the backseat. "Ten minutes until arrival, Mr. Queen."

~o.O.o~

Since her arrival in Starling City, Bella had been a busy girl. As much as she needed to sit and discuss with Oliver Queen about a formal agreement with the nightclub, neither one of them seemed to have been able to find the opportunity and she knew much of it was avoidance on his part. She allowed him the time but as his grand re-opening was growing closer, she knew he would not be able to avoid her at the event and she would force his hand then.

Charlie had gone on ahead of her to check on the work that Laurel had gotten started for them and to take over but when he called back to confirm her cousin's findings on the lack of preferred locations for their new base of operations, she was less than thrilled.

Still, she let left her father to figure out that problem as she had their new home to tend to since he was even less pleased that she had opted for the former Queen home over a simple apartment that he had inquired about. Bella merely smiled at him and continued to make her plans for the new mansion.

It would be the first time either of them would be in something so large, as she previously hadn't been willing to indulge in something like that. She had only taken it on for two reasons. One was as a subconscious revenge against all things that Oliver Queen may have once represented, as her dear cousin insisted he wasn't anymore since his dramatic return from the dead. The other was simply to help him out as another favor to mentioned family as the man had been having some personal and financial difficulties since his return that she couldn't entirely fault him for after she had read the articles involving his story.

Bella knew well enough and from the controlled expression on his face in many of the photos that there was more to his story but at that point in time, she didn't really care to know what it was. She was moving to Starling City for her family and to help the struggling people get back on their feet. After that, she would make the decision on where to go next, just as she had been doing since high school. One goal at a time.

Of course, what everyone didn't know was that she held her own secrets, her own controlled smile matched Oliver Queen's perfectly. Bella was well aware of that fact, which was how she identified it in the pictures and made the decision to not get involved with whatever story he might have for it. Still, she had an impression to make that night and she was going to let it explode as she stared out the limo's window as it pulled up to the nightclub. The driver got out to open her door and she gave him a flirty smile before heading up the walkway, past the line of people waiting to be able to get in.

"Wow, Bella," Laurel greeted her cousin with a big smile on her face. "You look absolutely stunning!" She had been at the club to see to it that Roy had everything ready in time, and of course help out a little bit. Oliver was going to be late, as usual, he was going to make a grand entrance, stay for ten minutes and then something would come up and he had to leave. It was the usual deal, really.

Bella grinned as she waved herself passed the bouncer as she approached her cousin and ignoring the curious looks of those standing around were giving them. "Thanks! It's not really often I get to dress up or go out so I figured why not go all the way tonight with my newest investment? Plus, if my name is going to be attached to anything, I have to make a statement. You do want your friend's business to go up after all. Trust me, I can get businessmen from Seattle in here in a heartbeat and then let the girls break their hearts. So where is my new partner?"

Laurel winced. "Yes… well… about that… he's running a little late," she said hesitantly and then threw up her hands. "I know, I know, it's a bad first impression but uhm… his driver had a flat tire. But he'll be here shortly."

She raised an eyebrow as she glanced back at her before turning back to survey the dancefloor. "I'm sure. You don't have to make excuses for him Laurel. He's been avoiding me, I know. If I were in his position, I would honestly be putting off this meeting as long as possible as well but it needs to be done and he can't run from me tonight."

Laurel chuckled and took Bella's hand. "Come on, let me show you around - or at least meet Roy, he's the manager that Oliver hired." She started to pull Bella through the crowd of people and every warm blooded person was just gawking at Bella. "How's the house? Are you settling in okay?" It was a bit of a surprise that Bella bought the Queen mansion and that Oliver moved to a penthouse in the city, but if she was honest with herself, she'd probably have done the same thing.

"Everything is fine. I must say that Mrs. Queen had some good taste in furniture. Oliver left a lot of nice things behind that I'll be sure will be taken care of if he changes his mind about keeping. Still, as much as Charlie objected to the idea, I think he likes the extra space. Doesn't make us feel like we are really living together and are under one another's foot as before. He has his space, I have mine. He knows not to go into mine, not that he would ever get in," she smirked.

"I knew it," Laurel laughed. "The security system that the Queen's had put in just wasn't good enough, was it?"

Bella shrugged, not really wanting to discuss the topic much further because it might lead to questions she wasn't comfortable answering. "It was fine. I - just tend to be a bit paranoid about safety. If you want, I can have someone take a look at your apartment and work something out for you. Same with your dad's place. Knowing Charlie, who the hell knows what might follow your father home from work one day. That reminds me actually. I know Oliver said he would handle the security for the club but with the amount of money coming into the place, I want to know that it's something that isn't just average."

"Oh, Oliver has it covered. He doesn't want this club to be destroyed and has various safeguards in place. Including a special room for a security guard to sit in and watch the club on a dozen or so tv screens." Laurel shrugged. "I told him it was a little over the top but I guess he wanted to impress you with a great security for the club."

Her curiosity was piqued and eyebrow shot up in silent question as she looked back at her cousin. "Is that so?" she mused, making her wonder if he was as paranoid as she was. "I'll have to have him show it to me when he shows up then. Come on. Let me buy you a drink," Bella grinned as she wrapped her arm around the girl's and dragged her up to the bar.

"Laurel, I mean, Miss Lance," Felicity said as she pushed past a few people in the crowd towards Laurel. "Mr. Queen arrives in about five minutes, Diggle just called me and wow." She said as she looked at Bella. "That's… one daring dress…" She then clasped her hands in front of her mouth in shock. "And I am so sorry, Miss Swan, that was out of bounds but you're amazing!"

"Bella," Laurel chuckled as she pointed at Felicity. "This is Felicity Smoak. She works for Queen Consolidated and is basically Oliver's personal assistant with all the work that she does."

Bella raised an eyebrow at the casualness of the two as she tried to make sense of it. "It's a pleasure," she smiled back at her politely as she eyed her curiously. Deciding that this girl might be best for the truthful reaction and opinion on the man's company, she shot out her question. "Maybe you could tell me what the news and financial reports haven't printed yet. Just how much in the hole is Queen Consolidated really in?"

Laurel shot Felicity a warning look, but found out that she had nothing to worry about. "It's a PR dip, nothing we can't handle, Miss Swan. Mr. Queen is working hard to get the company back on its feet and we're expecting positive results."

Nodding, Bella expected such an answer. It sounded almost rehearsed but the girl was good she had to admit. "I hope it does do well. I hate to see a good company succumb under the scrutiny that the media circus enjoys parading. With what's already been said, I don't see it looking up in the immediate future. Just play your cards carefully," she warned before turning to the bar and signaled for the bartender. As soon as he came by, she glanced back at the two girls with her. "Three beers, imported and bottled. Open them here in front of me."

"That's not how we usually…" Roy said a bit hesitant but one look from Laurel told him to better do it if he wanted to keep all of his limbs in tact. "Right away, ma'am." Things had to be perfect tonight. Not just for the club, but also to make sure that Bella would be satisfied enough not to come around often - even if they really secured the basement now. He grabbed three Amstel beers and set them on the counter, getting the bottle opener out of his pocket and removed the caps. "Would you like a glass with it?"

Bella watched on with a careful eye, not caring what others thought about her issues about how she demanded things. "I'm good, thanks. I don't know about these ladies. Girls?" she asked them as she took her bottle and drew a long sip as she eyed the bartender.

"It's already in a glass, isn't it?" Laurel chuckled and took her bottle. She raised it to Bella with a big smile on her face. "To you."

"Family. Never leave them behind," she cheered back as she raised her bottle back and looked to Felicity, who had been quiet. "And to - new connections. I'm not sure what to make of you yet. Sorry."

Felicity smiled as she took a sip of her beer. "That's alright, Miss Swan. Thank you for the beer."

"No problem. I've got us covered for the night. Open up a tab Chuck," Bella grinned to the guy and claimed the bar stool that was just vacated beside them. Keeping an eye out for her partner, she focused in on the crowd.

The bartender raised his head and looked back at Laurel at the mention of her name, pointing to her when she had turned away from the bar to look around. "Really?" he mouthed silently in question. "My new boss?"

Laurel nodded before she turned around to see Oliver come in while the people around him were cheering, grateful that he had been able to open up their favourite club again. "There he is. Just follow the noise."

Bella looked toward the commotion and let out a bored sigh of irritation. "Get me something harder Chuck. This is going to be a long night if I'm going to have to put up with this kind of show," she muttered as she turned around, not caring for the obvious local celebrity appearance. Looking around the bar counter, she pouted. "Where are the beer nuts?"

Roy pulled one of the bowls of nuts towards the ladies. "Right here, Miss Swan."

Oliver walked towards Laurel, Bella and Felicity with a big smile on his face. "Ladies. Good evening, sorry I'm late." He was a bit surprised by Bella's choice of clothing, she looked - stunning. Well, he assumed it was her, seeing as she was with Laurel, who looked beautiful herself but still, she always was a total knockout. He extended his hand towards Bella. "Nice to see you again, Miss Swan," he smiled at her, not really remembering her but he trusted Laurel in telling him that they used to hang out.

Bella looked up from her bowl of nuts and eyed his hand for a moment. She reached out to shake it and smiled back, somewhat mockingly. "You don't remember shit about me Oliver so cut the crap," she grinned as she canted her head to the side as she peered at him. "Hmm…"

"Oh, thank god," Oliver said with a relieved sigh. "You know… I'm sorry about that, truly." He felt a little bit exposed when she kept looking at him while he tried not to look at her. "What? I still have shaving cream on my face?"

"No," she mused but the previous light smile that was on her face had fallen as she begun to identify the expression that she studied on his face in the news articles. "Just - it's nothing. Don't worry about it. Look, we both have to do our parts at this little party here but we also have business to discuss that I'd rather get done and over with because I'd much rather be out there enjoying myself on a rare night off of work. So if you don't mind - is there somewhere quiet that we can discuss things?"

"Absolutely," Oliver nodded as he extended his arm for her to get it. "The top level holds the office and the security room and we have it sound proofed." It was a good thing that she wanted the business side over with, this meant that he could slip away when he needed to; parties really weren't his thing anymore even though he pretended it to be.

Nodding, Bella collected her bag as she winked over at Laurel, fully ready to get the man riled up. "Business first then the press. Oh and I expect a full tour of the place after we discuss some new habits your bartenders need to adopt for female patrons."

Oliver silently groaned. _Fuck_. "Of course, whatever you need and want." He lead her up the stairs towards the office and closed the door behind them.

As she followed him up, her eyes darted around to take in all the security that was offered. Bella had been sorely let down as she cross the threshold into the manager's office. She tossed her purse onto the desk and made herself comfortable in one of the plush armchairs that were there. "Nice. I may have to get one of these. Just so that we're aware, first thing that's going to happen is more cameras are getting installed. That corner around the stairs and this office is a major risk. I don't have any tolerance for employees thinking they can bring guests up here for some action," she pointed out as she crossed her legs to make the man uncomfortable enough to stress how their current situation could be misconstrued to the public eye.

"I disagree," Oliver said as he leaned against his desk, hands folded in front of him, almost as if he was protecting something. "There's a buttonhole camera in the desk, disguised as a screw. One of the eyes in the painting behind me isn't an eye and there's a hidden camera in one of the lights above you. We made sure it blended in so that people have the impression that they are safe in this office to do whatever they want to without being observed."

Bella went to look at the cameras he pointed out and nodded, impressed. "The stairs is still a blind spot," she said quietly as she walked around the room, looking at the artwork he had chosen to decorate the space. "Safety is something I take very seriously. Not just for myself, but for my employees and my family. I don't like any - gaps."

"You're right, the stairs is a blind spot. But only employees and we have access to this space," Oliver said, wondering why she was so adamant about the cameras. He'd think she'd be impressed so far.

"It's my family and her friends, who by default become important to me as well. Fix it," Bella snapped as she glared back at him for a moment before calming herself down. "The bartender. New policy. Any request for bottled drinks are to be opened right in front of the customer. No chance of it being tampered between point A and point B. Mix drinks are understandable to an extent, but whenever possible, everything in front of the customer. Next time I hear it's not policy from some idiot, I will really lose my lid," she mumbled to herself with the last line.

"I understand," Oliver said as he nodded. "However, my personnel are being thoroughly screened for anything, criminal record, any irregularities in their finances, their training, and people who come to this club know that this is a safe club to be in." What was her deal? He asked himself.

The deep breath that she sucked in should have been enough to warn him that a pissed off woman was not good to be around in such a confined space. Turning on her heel to stare at him, Bella's face was stone cold and entirely ruthless as she tended to be when she was at work. "Tell that to the retired detective that passed every background check and still tried to slip college girls at the bar off campus where I went to school roofies just to get himself some free kicks in the backroom. Again, not negotiable, and completely reasonable request."

Oliver thought for a moment and even though _he_ trusted his staff, she obviously didn't. Which was understandable. She was right, of course, but she also had to know that not everything was controllable. "I shall send the staff for a refresher course on bartending."

Nodding, she was accepting of that as she was more than aware of popular safety measures that had been adapted into the trade for reasons such as her own concerns. "Okay. What plans do you have beyond the booze and dancing to keep people coming?"

"Well, before the club was destroyed, we often had popular DJ's play at Verdant, drawing in the crowd. My security team is well equipped to handle the people and we've added more cameras to ensure that everything can be seen. The security team was handpicked by my own bodyguard, and it has former cops and army reservists as the core of it." Oliver said, still not having moved from his spot, still being in the same posture as they first entered the office. If she was freaking out about the smallest detail, the best he could do was to stay calm and hope that it would rub off on her. "My sister Thea introduced theme nights, once or twice a month, where people would dress up to a certain theme and come to party their worries away."

She had to smile at the mention of the girl. "How is Thea? Last I remember her, she was in diapers, screaming like a little banshee."

He didn't really want to talk about Thea as she was the only blood relative that he had left. She was often found at Malcolm Merlyn's house as she wanted to get to know him better, she claimed. Oliver just hoped that Merlyn wouldn't teach her how to use a bow against the Arrow, that was a disaster just waiting to happen. "Thea is doing a lot of soul searching right now," he eventually said. "And as long as she's happy, I'm happy."

Bella had been studying photos on the bookcase, coming across one of their family. Picking it up, she was wistful that she hadn't had the same type of experience growing up with both parents and siblings. "It had to have been hard losing both parents. I don't remember my mother much but Charlie…" she trailed off as she was lost in her thoughts before putting the frame back on the shelf carefully.

He sincerely hoped that she'd never have to experience her father shooting himself in the head or her mother being killed while she was present. Sure, Oliver and his mother weren't on the best of terms when Slade pushed the sword through Moira, but she was his mother. And now he only had Thea, sort of. Thea was angry at him for not telling her that Malcom Merlyn was her father and it hurt, because he had done that to keep her safe. "Family is what you make of it, who you gather around you to call family. It doesn't necessarily have to be blood related," Oliver eventually said. "Laurel told me that you and your father are close, and that's good, I envy you."

She sighed as she looked back at him. "I love my dad and would do anything for him. But most of the time it's a business relationship," she reluctantly admitted as she moved over to the window that overlooked the club. "I'm sure you have a few demands of your own considering you have the dominant side of this partnership. I'm going to tell you this now. When I invest in something, I expect to see it succeed which means that I want to be involved. Don't expect me to not want to know what is going on here so don't exclude me on anything. It's not just your money that would be lost if the place takes another nosedive, accident or not."

"Which is why I plan on buying you out as soon as I can, I don't mind losing my money, but losing someone else's is something completely different," Oliver said as he looked at her back. "I can send you a weekly update on what came in and what went out, the stock will be counted on a monthly basis and I can show you what suppliers we use. If those suppliers aren't to your liking, we can change suppliers, that's no problem." If she was as paranoid about products as security, then this was a good play, or so he thought. This was why he had Thea run the place, so he didn't have to deal with all of this. Life was hectic enough as it was. "I'm sure that Roy wouldn't mind compiling that update for you, as he manages the place for me."

She found herself smiling to herself as he actually said all that with a straight face. "You don't trust me as much as I don't trust almost everyone down there. With good reason probably," she mused as she looked back at him with the same curious expression as she did downstairs. "We all have our secrets Mr. Queen. I'm not so sure you're capable of keeping yours to yourself," she said. "In any case, you've made my move to Starling City much more entertaining. I think I may be staying longer than I thought I would. Send me the revised agreement and I'll have my lawyer review it. I'm going to go have fun now since you seem to take pleasure of not having any," she frowned as she went over and grabbed her purse from behind him, brushing him to the side intentionally and walked out.

Before she closed the door behind her, she muttered loud enough to be carried into the room, "Self indulged jackass like _Douchward_."

Oliver took a few long strides and went after her. He stopped her right before she walked down the stairs with a touch on the shoulder before retreating his hand. "What do you want from me?"

Bella held in her irritation as she turned back because they were in full view of club goers where they were. "Nothing. I want nothing from you," she said evenly as her eyes flashed with barely suppressed rage. "And the next time you touch me again without my consent, you'll be on your ass and then in jail. I don't care right now how innocent it was and that I know you meant nothing by it other than to stop me. Next time you want to talk to me, call my office."

With that, she continued down the stairs with surprising grace considering her ensemble as she made a beeline straight for the bar where she had left her cousin before. Pissed off with Oliver, and now upset because she couldn't find Laurel as she looked around around the crowded club, she called for the bartender. "Hey Chuck! Close out my account," she said as she slapped her credit card on the counter as she gritted her teeth, and hating Oliver Queen.

Roy just about caught the change in Oliver's face when Oliver appeared from the stairs. He went from looking pissed off to looking like Mr. Popular, as he usually did, as if there wasn't anything wrong. In the meantime, however, he had a pissed of Miss Swan at his counter. He smiled at her, took her credit card and swiped it for payment. He handed her the card back and a receipt with its copy. "Please sign both receipts and keep one, miss."

She scribbled her name on the slips and slid his copy back as she tucked hers into her bag. "If you see Laurel, tell her I went home and that I'll call her when the dog dances the hula," she said, not caring what he would get about the joke between the cousins. It was enough to let the woman know that she wouldn't be calling anytime soon, or at least before she had the chance to cool her temper.

"Would you like me to call you a cab, ma'am?" Roy inquired with the phone in his hand. "Or do you have a car waiting?"

She pulled out her phone and waved to him. "I've got it covered. Thanks anyway. Make sure Laurel gets my message," she said as she dialed one of her security officers that were on duty at the office. Confirming that she would meet him a few blocks up, which she had no problem walking, she headed off.


	4. 04: Masks & Secrets

**Disclaimer: We own nothing from Arrow or Twilight. Actually, we **_**really**_ **don't want to own **_**anything **_**of Twilight to be honest, but wouldn't mind having Oliver tied up in one of our beds...alas, but a fantasy, so all we can do is pretend, with words. The plot is ours alone.**

**~o.O.o~**

Oliver was furious when Roy told him that Bella had left the club, saying that she had her ride covered. He had Felicity check the security cameras to see if she was waiting for her ride outside, but she had walked off. Yes, the woman could draw blood from underneath his fingernails with just one look, but she didn't deserve to be robbed, attacked, raped or even murdered in the Glades because of her icy personality.

He had quickly suited up and made his way out through the back, shooting an arrow up against the building to hoist himself on top of the roof so he could try and find her. Protect her from a safe distance. Oliver didn't have to look far as he spotted her just a few buildings ahead and the roofs were flat enough for him to land safely as he started to run.

Bella walked towards the agreed meeting spot, a sensation that often plagued her of being watched tickled the back of her neck. She slowed a few steps as she looked around carefully, but more irritably, to find a figure ducking back into a dark crevice between the buildings to hide. Turning back to her walk, she continued on but whoever the person was easily caught up to her, grabbing her by the shoulder and shoved her back against the building, holding a gun to her ribs.

"Give me your money," the man growled at her, but he had an amusement in his voice that she didn't like. "Or maybe something more…"

"How about neither," she suggested as her knee came up hard and fast, causing him to double over. What she didn't anticipate was that he had a friend with him that jumped out and grabbed her, attempting to pull her off into the alley. "I don't think so," she grunted as managed to twist and wiggle her way out of his grasp enough to throw her fist into his nose.

He watched the scene unfold below him from his perch on the roof. He had his bow ready, but Bella appeared to be able to fight her own way out of this. And, if not, he'd help her out anyway, as long as she didn't hurt herself or the guys didn't hurt her. Yes, maybe it was childish of him to do so, but was ashamed to admit that his balls nearly receded with the way she glared at him angrily.

"Stupid bitch," the first guy complained as he finally found his way to his feet again. Holding the gun up to her as she had her attention on the one she just sucker punched, he grinned. "You should know better than to hurt a man like that Baby."

Bella turned around as she took in the sight of the gun aimed at her, but only appeared just as bored as she let out a breath as she held her hands up like the helpless idiot she hated to pretend to be. "You would never get away with it if you knew who I am," she smiled. "But go ahead. Shoot me. See how long you last out on the streets then."

Both of the guys laughed at her. "Where the fuck do you think you are? This is the Glades! Ain't no body cares who you are here, lady. You just another dead whore for the police," the would-be mugger said as his finger started to pull back on the trigger. "Say bye bye!"

"Bye bye!" the guy's friend laughed as he moved out of the way, grinning as he waited for her to cry out in pain as the gun went off.

_Oh, for fuck's sake_, Oliver thought as he jumped down while shooting an arrow through the gunman's leg, readying himself to knock him out with his bow as soon as he hit the ground.

Bella grunted as she glared down at her dress, pissed off that it was ruined but she in turn went after the guy that had looked forward to getting off on her physical pain and eventual death. Throwing all her weight into her punch, she made sure she went for his throat to incapacitate him as much as possible before grabbing his head and throwing him into the building. "How do you like pain now, asshole?" she huffed before going over to collect her purse and ignoring the third man that arrived.

Oliver could do nothing more than to just stare at Bella after knocking out the guy he had shot with the arrow. Had she seriously dodged a bullet? How? She was clearly a decently trained fighter, he could tell, but there was no way she should have missed a gunshot? Switching on his voice changer, he spoke up. "The Glades is no place for a woman to walk alone, no matter what capabilities you might possess."

She stood up, feeling utterly spent. "What is it you call yourself nowadays? I believe the news referred to you as the Hood, the Vigilante, some other dozen or so names," she commented as she turned to face him, seemingly unsurprised by his presence as she just looked back at him with worn and tired eyes. "I don't need lectures about safety. I know well enough what is safe and not. Thanks."

"Ah, Isabella Swan, the new security heavyweight," Oliver's _Arrow_ persona commented. "This city could use more job opportunities, but why the Glades? This is not the safest area of Starling City."

She smiled at him indulgently. "I see you're just as close minded as someone else I know. I don't care for your opinions. I'm only here to do some good and if you know who I am, then you know that I have a very good track record of turning cities like this," she said gesturing around them, "to something worth being proud of calling home."

"Don't do anything stupid. I do not have the time to watch you and your people all day."

"I don't need protection," Bella scowled at him. "And my men are more than capable of taking care of themselves. If something happens to them on the job, they know its the risks of the field and in their contracts - not that its any of your business. You don't have to worry about my employees. Just concern yourself with the civilians that aren't capable of protecting themselves and then maybe, we just might get along a little bit."

"Fair enough," he replied as he put his bow back on his back. "Can you at least entertain me by allowing me to stay with you until your ride arrives?" He felt slightly giddy that he knew her secret, but now was the plan to figure out how it worked. He pulled the arrow out of the fallen guy's leg and put it back in his sheath. No need to waste arrows if you can save them. "How long have you known that you're bulletproof? Is it some new technology?" Hell, if it was, he was going to put resources into it at the applied sciences department to make him one, it would certainly save him some pain.

Bella raised an eyebrow at him as she crossed her arms, hiding the area she knew he was referring to. "What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Is your ability natural?"

"My ability? It's called self defense training that I participated in with some of my staff. Between the whole vigilante thing and the costume, I'm beginning to think you've read too many comics growing up. Maybe I should have my driver take you into the hospital for an evaluation. Seems mental health seems to be on the decline around here, especially among the male gender."

He looked behind him and then snorted. "Ah, you've met Mr. Queen."

"Pompous idiot," she muttered as she began walking closer to the rendezvous location just for something to do.

Oliver walked after her. "Your self defence training paid off, I was more talking about how that bullet ruined your dress but you don't appear to be injured."

"I don't know. Maybe you just need your eyes checked. My dress got ripped in the fight," Bella pointed out so factually that it could actually make sense if you weren't able to watch the bullet in slow motion.

He chuckled. "Whatever you say, Miss Swan, we all have our secrets. Just know that your secret is safe with me."

Bella stopped short as she turned to glare at him at the phrase he decided to use. "Even if I knew what you were talking about, which I don't, I wouldn't tell you. It's not like you're just going to rip off that hood to show me who you are, now would you?"

He wanted to say something, but that would make him sound like a madman. "Unlikely. Are you sure you're not hurt?"

"I'm positive," she said a little more softly. "Trust me, this isn't the first rodeo I've been to. And if my dad finds out, I'll be in the emergency room for a barrage of unnecessary tests and wasting doctors' time just to make sure that I don't have any injuries. Most I'll have is a headache from everything tonight."

"If you do require some medical assistance, I can help you with that. Hospitals are something I like to avoid myself."

Bella let out a laugh as she looked at him and shook her head. "You know, if I wasn't as tired as I am right now, I'd tell you more than just fuck off. If you want to figure out what is my so called ability, as you call it, then you have to do better than that to get closer to me," she smiled.

Thankfully for her, she would also get a parting shot in as her ride flashed his lights as he came around the corner and stopped in front of them where she was able to open the back door and slid inside. Opening the window, she peeked out at him before he could disappear. "You can start with dinner one night perhaps. Have a good night Vigilante."

He couldn't help but to stare at the car as it drove away before his mind kicked back in gear and he went back to the roof. He texted Detective Lance about the two unconscious muggers with a firearm in the alley and slipped back into the basement. He wasn't surprised that there were two sides to Bella; she had a company in what used to be a man's only kind of job and she needed to be strong and ooze confidence. Now, the Bella he had encountered as the Arrow was still strong and confident, but a bit _nicer_.

"How did it go?" Felicity asked as Oliver stripped out of his outfit.

"Great."

"Did she need help?"

"Nope."

"Really? That's amazing! Get back into your normal clothes and have a drink upstairs, people are wondering where you were."

"Can't I just go home?" To be honest, he wanted to stay in the basement and have Felicity tell him everything about Bella that she could find on the internet. He was definitely intrigued now. On the other hand, wasn't it better to figure it out on his own? Bella was definitely very interesting but questionable still at this point.

"It's your club, Oliver. Laurel will have your balls if you don't go back upstairs."

Oliver grunted as he walked up the stairs and opened the door to the club. Because they had put the door behind a wall of light, people wouldn't really see the door anyway, but the moment he showed his face, people were in his face. Reporters mostly, others were congratulating him on the fantastic reopening and how great everything looked. He wished that Diggle had come down to meet him.

"Alright, alright," he said with his big smile plastered on his face, pretending to like the attention. "I'll give you a moment of my time for you to ask me some questions you've been now yelling at me."

An attractive reporter, who hadn't been happy with what she had witnessed on the stairs but couldn't deny the obvious scene that her counterparts also had seen. "Are you and Isabella Swan involved?" she asked bluntly.

"Miss Swan is an investor of Verdant. So in that way, yes, we are involved," he replied with a nod.

Another reporter spoke up. "She is a dangerous woman to enter a partnership with. Aren't you afraid of losing not just your club but also Queen Consolidated to her if your relationship ends?"

"I know her reputation. Of course I'm a little bit scared," he said with a smile. "But doing business with other people always brings risks."

Because of the music being so loud, some of the writers in the back of the group were able to whisper between one another where the man was unable to hear them as they shared believed he was completely in denial about his new girlfriend still and that he would eventually learn, as the others before him. A few others among them asked a couple questions before they finally allowed him to pass to continue his night.

Coming down from the bar area, Laurel glared at him until he was safely away from the gaggle of squawking press so that she could rip into him. "What the hell is going on?" she hissed. "Roy just told me that Bella took off after her meeting with you!"

Oliver groaned. "Can we please stop talking about her?" Seriously, all day long people were all about Bella and it was Bella this, Bella that. He knew she was safely on her way home then so he could focus on the business. "What's everyone's obsession with her? I don't get it."

Straightening her back as she narrowed her eyes, Laurel pressed her lips closed. "If and when _Bella_ decides to share her story with you, then you will know. Until then, _deal_ with it. She has her problems just as you have your own, but unlike you, she doesn't go running around town in a costume trying to make up for her shortcomings," she whispered harshly before brushing past him in her anger, leaving him on his own in the crowded club.

Oliver moved to the bar and looked at Roy. "Can I please have a beer? And I swear, if you say the _her _name, I can and will kill you," he threatened his protégé.

Roy just smirked as he set a shot glass in front of him and filled it with tequila. "I think you're going to need something stronger after all that."

"Yeah, thanks," Oliver smiled gratefully, downed the shot and another, before trying to make his way through the crowd towards the stairs, intending on hiding in the office the rest of the night.

He managed to get to the stairs relatively unscathed, grateful for the area being people free and got into his office. Oliver knew the best way to handle all of this was to party it up like he used to, like they'd expect him to, but all that talk about Bella Swan made him feel _uneasy_. Mostly because there had been some sort of attraction to her that he could not explain and it was _strange_.

One thing he knew for sure was that he wanted to try to stay away from her as much as possible. He couldn't get used to this feeling as it was only going to distract him from his duties as the Arrow. He was glad that the massive window was like a one way mirror, he could see the partying crowd beneath him that way he could change into the suit if he needed to but also use as a cover for meetings as he had earlier with his business _partner_.

He sat down behind his desk and booted up his computer to try to get actual work done. His inbox was filled with emails from Felicity, or other emails that she first vetted then forwarded for his attention. He was glad that he had her, even though she wasn't really happy with the idea of working as his assistant at Queen Consolidated considering her skillset. Regardless, he was proud of how far she'd come since they'd first met.

As expected, his inbox kept pinging with new messages and it took awhile to sort through them. By the time he was finished, he was began to grow bored again. Oliver didn't want to go downstairs to the club or the basement, he wasn't ready to go home and he certainly wasn't going to check if _Miss Swan_, as that was inviting other forms of trouble he simply wasn't ready for. But - curiosity killed the cat.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," he muttered to himself as he opened Google and typed in her name. The search results brought up a lot of news coverage of her time in Seattle and he decided to read some of them to get an idea of her. He soon realized that she wasn't that different from him. The same fake smile in every media photo taken, the same carefully chosen words when answering questions. He felt sorry for her and started to understand the coldness she put up.

It was obvious that she hadn't taken up a _persona_ like he had because of her being bulletproof. No. However, something had happened to her that had made her like this. Didn't Laurel mention some sort of idiot boyfriend? There were plenty of images of her and this guy called Aaron and he was a businessman. And according to one item that he had read was that this Aaron guy wanted Bella to be a trophy wife.

Oliver chuckled. Bella and being a trophy wife didn't fit together. She was an independent spirit, he knew that very clearly. He could feel it when she was berating him earlier. This Aaron had dumped Bella quite publicly and she took his balls quite in the same way. Oliver could not help but to cheer for the woman.

He then sighed and repeatedly hit his head on the table. "Get out of my head, Bella Swan," he said every time his head met the desk. What was it with him and the women of the Lance family? First Laurel, then Sara and now Bella? What has his life come to?

~o.O.o~

When her driver delivered her to her door safely, Bella quickly made sure all the doors were locked as soon as she was inside. Running a hand through her hair, she paced the in her living room, trying to figure out what to do with this new masked man knowing about her secret.

No one ever learned about her ability before. Despite her father's own observation skills, he tended to be somewhat shortsighted in regards to her, so she had managed to keep all the incidents as tightly guarded secrets. She'd known even before as a child that she was different and that it wasn't normal. Where she had difficulty telling the lies, she quickly learned ways to cover the truth with enough camouflage that seemed plausible and repeated her stories. Most of the time, adults assumed the incidents shook her up enough to believe she was traumatized and let her go without pressing on the issue.

Lack of broken bones, cuts, lacerations and such injuries that would be common for a child growing up was not in her medical file despite the numerous emergency room trips Charlie forced her to endure when he believed her have suffered some catastrophe. Regardless, Dr. Cullen humored the man and ran the requested tests each time and that was how she had gotten familiar with the family and eventually into the relationship with Edward in high school. The biggest mistake of her life as far as she was concerned.

Bella's phone beeped as a message came through. It was from Laurel. _Are you okay? Can I call you?_

She hesitated as her fingers lingered over the screen. _Sure. I just got home. _As soon as the message was sent, her phone rang. "Where's the fire?"

"_Nowhere. I just wondered if you got home safe, I already bitched at Oliver for getting you pissed off."_

"Now why would you do that?" she asked as she started up the stairs towards her room as she inspected her dress for damage. Grimacing at the very obvious bullet hole, she knew that the hooded man was aware of her lie. "I didn't ask anything of him that was unreasonable Laurel. If he said otherwise than he is full of shit."

"_He didn't. In fact, he didn't say anything at all. I'm just sorry he pissed you off. He can be a stubborn ass sometimes."_

Bella let out a sigh as she reached her room, quickly slipping out of the dress and throwing it onto the shelf in her closet to deal with another day. "He needs _more_ cameras for blind spots and the bartenders need to be more conscious of their female customers. It's a club for crying out loud. Do you know the statistics of attacks and drugging of drinks for women in clubs in this country? If I'm going to be putting my money in his company, then it's going to damn well be the safest fucking club for the two year old in your boyfriend's pants to not get himself into trouble."

Laurel laughed on the other side of the phone. "_He's not my boyfriend. He was, but he's not anymore. I need someone less… prominent than him. He's up in his office now, fuming and probably ordering those extra cameras."_

"Let him. He's a petulant child as far as I'm concerned and he's only proven my concerns that I've mentioned since you've asked for my help with his financial problem. Now I'll keep up my end of the deal but it's going to get really fucking complicated if he's going to continue his tantrums," she argued as a flash of lightning lit the sky outside her window just as she finished changing into her sweats, making her jump.

"_As I told you… he has a good team of people around him who make sure he won't fuck things up. He's learned to listen to them after what happened to Queen Consolidated last year. Believe me, it's really hard to get through to him because he's so fucking stubborn it makes me want to pull out my hair sometimes."_ Laurel chuckled. "_Other than being that, there's a whole other side to him that just makes me so proud of him."_

Bella rolled her eyes as she left her room to move back downstairs for the night as her father chose to go away for a couple days fishing. "Well until I see this side of the man you claim exists, fat chance of me believing it. He's a pompous asshole just like the others of his kind as far as I'm concerned," she announced. "You could tell him what I said too. If he thinks that I'm some idiot that will get on my knees for him because I think he's hot, then he has another thought coming. It just makes me want to twist his nuts up in a painful knot even more and make him beg for mercy."

"_Ouch," _Laurel laughed. "_Wait, what? You think he's hot?"_

She pulled the phone away from her ear and made a face at the device. "What the fuck Laurel! I threaten to rip the boy's balls off and you're concerned if I think he's hot?"

"_Bella, if Felicity, Sara and I had our way, he'd already been castrated a hundred times over."_

"Then why the fuck haven't you done so? Must I do everyone's fucking job?" she whined. "Fine. I'll have to go find Charlie's rusty hedgeclippers. I think he has them in the basement."

"_Because he has a whole different side that makes his stupidity okay to live with."_

"Says you. I just fucking moved back to Starling City after how many years? All I've read and heard about is his cheating ways so forgive me if I feel a bit vindictive for my cousin, considering he cheated on you with your own _sister_! Speaking of, where the fuck is the little bitch?" Bella questioned as she tripped when a bright flash of lightning struck a tree on the property but she was more than able to see it through the large window of the living room, making her gasp out. "Shit…"

"_Are you okay? Would you like me to come over?"_

She closed her eyes and shook her head. "No. No. I'm fine. I just tripped is all. Clumsy me. Please, Charlie had me in and out the emergency room so much in Forks, I was on first name basis with the staff," she joked as she slowly pulled the throw blanket from the couch to take with her on her way to the basement.

"_Alright well, we should definitely do something together this weekend. Like a spa day or something."_

"Sounds great. I'll talk to you later," Bella said before saying goodnight. After hanging up, she pushed the door to the basement open and made her way down the steps to the storm shelter her father had pointed out to her. It was probably the best part of the house for her when he wasn't around but it didn't help entirely because she could still hear the thunder as it rolled in the sky as she sat on her camping gear for another sleepless night.

~o.O.o~

Hanging up the phone from an interesting conversation with Bella, Laurel was both amused and confused by her cousin's behaviour. "Well, that was odd," she commented as she looked up at Felicity.

"What's odd?" Felicity asked as she turned around from her computer, after having pretended she hadn't listened in on this half of the conversation as she usually did.

"Um...I think for one, Bella might have the hots for Oliver. I mean, I think she admitted to him being hot or something like it, but when I called her out on it, I don't think she realized what she actually said so I'm thinking she's in denial just like that idiot is upstairs," she started with as she glared at the ceiling in frustration.

"I think we should actually stop pushing him so much," Felicity said, hesitantly. "Even though all my research and your stories tell me that they're a match made in heaven, basically, I think that if we push him too hard, or scold him too much for it, that he'll balk. But it's good that she admitted it at least, so there's some hope."

Laurel agreed to a certain point. "You're right but we can lay off - tomorrow. Bella just threatened to rip off Oliver's balls and make him beg her for mercy. Tell me really that you don't want to mess with his head _just_ a little bit more…"

"Yeah… but he can kill us with a snap of his fingers, remember?"

"She threatened to rip off his balls and she's practically done it before - legally," she reminded the woman with a raised eyebrow. "A little push in her direction to show that him that sometimes the pain is worth the pleasure could work for all of our benefit."

"How would it work in our benefit if he kills us?" Felicity chuckled and shook her head. "Alright, what are you suggesting?"

Laurel stood there for a moment as she considered their options. "Where is he now?" she asked her.

Felicity pulled up the security feed and pointed at his office, he didn't look like he was going to be able to handle a joke. "Are you sure, Laurel? Because Ollie scares me sometimes, you know."

She eyed the screen and could barely laugh. "Is he seriously hitting his head on the desk right now?" she grinned as she pointed before running out. "Oh I have to see this in person. I'm going up there! Don't warn him!"

"Laurel!" Felicity called after her and decided to run after the woman. Yes, this was actually too good to be true!

Laurel was barely contained as she squeezed through the guests, all the while trying to keep the ridiculous grin off her face while security let her pass through and up the stairs. Throwing the door of the office open, she stared at the man with his head on the desk beside the computer. "Well, well, well. What do we have here?" she said as she crossed her arms.

"Go away, Laurel," Oliver groaned as he kept his head on the desk.

"I don't think so. I know we talked before after Bella left, but I'm being serious now. What really went down?" she asked innocently as she went to sit on the corner of the desk and playing with the cup of paperclips he had there.

Felicity was standing in the door opening, looking at Oliver and Laurel with a big smile on her face.

"Nothing, Laurel," Oliver said as he looked up to her from his position on his desk, not bothering in getting up. "I'd be happy if everyone would stop mentioning Bella so I can get on with stuff."

"Sure. Just, the thing is...I got off the phone with her a few moments ago and I learned a couple things. One is that she's _really_ unhappy with you. So much so that she threatened to twist and _rip _off your balls at least twice during the conversation," she replied, as if having expected that reaction. "Oh and she also wanted to take them off with Charlie's hedgeclippers that he keeps in the basement... I don't remember."

"I bet she did," Oliver said, looking up. "Stop talking about her."

Laurel ignored him and continued on. "I don't think she even realized her slip, but I know my cousin. I mean she and I were like best friends. She actually said I can tell you this, her words, not mine. But she said that if you thought that she was some idiot that will get on her knees for you because she thinks you're hot, then you have another thought coming. Now Bella just doesn't think like that. She wouldn't say _hot_ for one thing. She would say something like attractive or good looking. No. She _really_ likes you, and she fucking hates it. Oh yes! This is going to be so exciting!"

Felicity saw the look on Oliver's face, yelped and ran back to the basement. He was pissed off and not just a little. No. This was major _Ollie!Smash!_ mode.

"Get out, Laurel," Oliver said as he leaned back in his chair. "I'm not going to ask you again."

She turned back to him and smiled gently. "I'm leaving, don't worry. I just wanted to make sure that you knew. She usually is in her office by 7:00 in the morning," she said as she headed for the door. "In case you were considering surprising her you know. Assess the situation. Goodnight Ollie."


	5. 05: Sense of Security

**Disclaimer: We own nothing from Arrow or Twilight. Actually, we **_**really**_ **don't want to own **_**anything **_**of Twilight to be honest, but wouldn't mind having Oliver tied up in one of our beds...alas, but a fantasy, so all we can do is pretend, with words. The plot is ours alone.**

**~o.O.o~**

The morning after the grand re-opening of Verdant, Bella had decided to go out for breakfast on her way into work, stopping at a coffee shop uptown near the estate. Grabbing the morning paper, she ordered her coffee and bagel and paid before making her way to the side to wait, finally opening the pages to catch the headlines and nearly choking on her saliva.

Glancing around the room in her ire, she could see the college and high school aged girls whispering as they giggled, likely about the article and pictures, but she shook her head as she flipped through the pages to read what the reporters had to say.

"Mother fucker," she muttered as she pressed her eyes closed, her hands tightening around the newspaper as it crinkled in protest. When her order was called out, Bella quickly grabbed it and ran out to make her escape to the office to see what kind of damage control she might be able to do, if any, on this problem.

Granted, for the club, this was a good thing, but personally for her, she absolutely was not pleased to be linked to another man even in the slightest romantically. Especially to an asshole such as Oliver Queen. She couldn't help the stray thought about restricting usage of cameras inside the club, even from cell phones but even she knew she wouldn't be able to make it hold and keep the business ratings high.

She was even tempted to call Oliver to see if he had read the paper yet himself, but she resisted. It might lead to questions about what occurred after she left and with her running into the hooded vigilante, she wasn't particularly in the sharing mood for information about her personal life. While this supposed hero might be trustworthy in theory, with her secret, she couldn't even bring herself to tell her own father about the fact that she was unable to be injured in any way. All those trips to the emergency room for his piece of mind was a waste of time and resources for the doctors growing up, but she knew she could never say anything for fear of being feared.

By the time Bella reached her office, there was a small group of reporters gathered outside the door making her scowl in displeasure. One of her security officers met her at her driver's door to escort her inside, giving her a brief report along the way.

"Morning, ma'am," Derek, one of her favorites greeted. "They've been waiting since 0500 roughly and we've been unable to deter them. You also have a visitor waiting in your office. Since they've seen his arrival - they've absolutely _refused _to leave."

"I think I have an idea of who it is," Bella grumbled, letting him pull her past the reporters who were throwing out questions to her about her relationship with Oliver Queen which only made her face red with anger.

Making her way into her office, she brushed past the man as she not so gracefully dumped her coat on her chair and set her coffee on her desk. Pacing the floor a few times, she finally turned to him as she fixed him with an icy glare, she gritted her teeth before turning away again, only feeling angered all over from reading the article.

~o.O.o~

He hadn't gone back to the apartment the previous night and instead had slept at Verdant. Mostly it was because he didn't want Roy to clean up the mess all by himself and the few waitresses that were left. After the task, he sent everyone home, closed up and settled on the field bed in the basement - only to be awoken a few hours later by an ecstatic Felicity, who was jumping all over the place.

"Remind me to restrict your caffeine intake," he had gruntled at her when she handed him a cup of coffee and she politely waited until he had fully woken up. Oliver didn't like hearing what she had to say. There were pictures of him and Bella in the papers - which was no big deal - but the message that came with those pictures, _Starling City's Most Eligible Bachelor Off The Market!_ - amongst others - was a big deal. He could not deal with this.

Yes, this kind of publicity was great for the club. Yes, it would be good to be seen with her for Queen Consolidated. However, seeing as they were both in the public eye now, it made things very difficult for him to just sneak away like he usually did when the Arrow was needed and he did not want to give up that. It was an extra risk he didn't want to work around.

He was fuming by the time Diggle arrived to take him to the office as Laurel had sent him text messages about the coverage and instructed the man to take him to Bella's office instead; which was only a short ride. Felicity told him to get cleaned up before he left, however, so after a quick shower and a clean suit, he was on his way.

His exit from Verdant was a lot easier than getting into the building of Swan Security as there were reporters waiting for her. No doubt they were posting outside Queen Consolidated too and even though he had a pretty good handle on his anger thanks to his time on the Lian Yu and his experience as the Arrow, he just couldn't have a smile appear on his face as he exited the car. He wanted to hit every single one of the reporters, but he was Oliver Queen, he had Diggle to shove them out of the way.

Oliver had to admit, her staff was incredible and didn't want to let him into her office, but just as he was about to start raging, they let him through. Probably because one reporter had managed to follow them in and they didn't want him to cause a scene. Waiting for her was agony. Diggle kept a watchful eye, but his mouth shut, mostly because Oliver was ready to explode.

When she finally entered, he could see she was just as pissed off as he was, and he felt his anger get a bit less, there was no need to be angry for two when she appeared to be even worse than he was.

When she didn't speak, he decided to begin. "I can't use this."

Bella turned to him with a raised eyebrow, questioningly. "Can't use what Queen?" she asked, also noticing his friend with him at the same time with a glance and nod of acknowledgment. "Because right now, I'm trying to think of some kind of damage control for this mess but am failing to come up with anything past to just play into their fucking game - which I don't like for the record."

"How about we ignore it until it goes away?" Oliver offered, it usually worked for things like this, didn't it? He could see why blatantly denying it would only put more fuel on the fire and if they'd be seen in public together it would be the same. "Being linked to each other might do both our businesses some good."

She eyed him like he was the biggest idiot that walked into her office - and he probably was at the moment. "That might have worked if you decided not to make a personal appearance here this morning. Your coming here only confirms their beliefs or are you that much of an idiot to not have considered that? What? Was picking up the phone too difficult for you? I believe I had told you last night that we would have all business conducted through our contacts for the club since you don't give a damn about anyone else but your own opinion and intend on buying me out first chance you get. It's your club. I get it. It's only my money that helped get it open again for you, not that it matters any or that I know a thing or two about business you pompous jackass."

A knock on the door interrupted them as Derek stuck his head in. "My apologies ma'am. Mr. Swan is on line two for you and said that it is important," he announced, making her sigh. Bella knew that it really wasn't and that he just wanted to rant about the article himself as he must have just woken up to get the paper delivery at the mansion. Reaching back on her desk, she lifted the phone and pressed the extension.

"Swan," she answered, rubbing at her eyes, suddenly grateful for not bothering with any makeup that morning. She was quiet as he went off on his tirade, but it made the morning gossip on the television that he had caught while getting ready for the day. "Dad - it's not true. You really think that after everything I would honestly - ugh - Even if I was - God! I would trust Laurel but I wouldn't do _that_ again after last time. No. Just don't. No. There's no need to kill him Daddy. He didn't do anything, yet. If he did, I'm sure I can take care of matters myself. Go fishing. I love you too. Bye now."

Oliver was slightly amused by the phone call and he had to admit, maybe he was too overprotective over Verdant - or Queen Consolidated, for that matter - but after what happened with Slade, Isabel Rochev and Queen Consolidated, he had every right to be. It was only because he initially thought that the money to fix Verdant's basement came from Laurel, that he was in this mess in the first place. Laurel he could trust - Bella probably too but that remained to be seen.

"You're absolutely right, of course," Oliver said eventually, he'd been called worse names than that and she needed an outlet for her anger too. "And just so you know, I have informed the manager of Verdant about what you said last night and he agrees, so all the changes will be implemented."

Bella nodded silently as she leaned back against her desk, almost in a reflection of their position the night before as she eyed him with caution. She truly never felt so uncontrolled of a situation as she did not as the man was an unknown factor in everything. His years away was a mystery and her cousin admitted as much that it did change him, but did not clarify to her just how.

"As for this mess," he said, gesturing to her and himself, "I suppose it could be worse. Let them make up their stories. As long as we and our friends and family really know what's going on, it shouldn't matter."

She remained silent as she considered it and slowly nodded after a few moments. "I can't be seen with any of you then. Sadly, not even my cousin because she spends so much time around you. I'll have to speak to her," she sighed as she turned away to start sifting through the papers on her desk. "I'll call and explain the situation to Laurel so you don't have to. I'm sure you're jumping for joy at my attending functions at the club any longer to instigate any possible curiosity from the media for you."

"Don't let this restrict your connections to your family or your responsibilities to the club," Oliver sighed. "This will go away, but it doesn't mean that we have to disrupt our lives to avoid exposure."

"No. This is about trust and you don't trust me," Bella announced as she looked up at him, dead in the eye. "Which is fine because frankly I don't trust you. I do trust Laurel to an extent but I haven't been close to her since we were children. Too much has changed, too much has happened over the years that I can't share with her. I don't want her to get hurt by whatever may come out of this this media circus and keeping my distance will protect her and the rest of the family from that. I've been here before already. History just repeats itself over and over again. I won't shirk my responsibilities, but that doesn't mean that I have to be there. You need something for the club, send me the invoice and it's done. I'm just tired of all of this," she said wearily, and probably revealing a little more of her true loneliness in her life than she realized.

Oliver didn't say anything right away as he realized that underneath that tough exterior there was a broken, or at least bruised, young woman. What he was going to say next was something that had to count, something she could find herself in, at least just a little, just as he had with her words. "I do trust Laurel. She might have her flaws, just like you and I, but she is a good friend. Hell, I don't even deserve her friendship, her trust, as I have hurt her due to my own irresponsibility in the past."

He then paused, thinking of his next words and he swore he could hear Diggle hold his breath, anticipating Oliver's behavior. Bella had shared something personal, and to open up possibilities, so should he. "It is difficult for me to trust people, mostly due to my past experiences. However, if we allow the past to hold us back in the present, what kind of world would that be? When I came back from that island, I didn't trust anyone. The people that cared kept coming back to me, much to my annoyance, but for my own good. If I hadn't changed the way that I was, I'd still be the savage that that island turned me into. Let's make Verdant and our trust in Laurel be something we can work with, a common ground. You are not alone in this and neither am I. I am not the bad guy. If you get to know me, you'll find that I am quite harmless." he then pointed at Diggle. "Which is why I have him."

Oliver genuinely smiled at her, it wasn't the smile he reserved for situations where he had to be this fake image, but his own, it even reached his eyes. "Let's take this mess and make it into an opportunity. Let's get to know each other and learn to trust each other."

Bella watched him carefully and while she couldn't help but believe a part of what he said as truth, he was like her and held back secrets. "All of a sudden you want to hold hands and braid each other's hair? What do you want from me? Because since I agreed to help you, I haven't asked or expected anything but cooperation from you. Just offered my help the only way that I was able to but you are the one that threw up those walls. You really can't expect me to be less than suspicious of the sudden change of heart here."

Oliver sighed deep and nodded, realizing she doesn't forgive easily. "I know and I apologise for being an ass. That wasn't fair towards you and I should have known better. It's just that last year, I had someone invest into Queen's Consolidated and for a while I had lost my company and most of my resources. I am very protective of what's mine. I was, and still am I suppose, afraid that you'd do the same."

"I read about that mess. It wasn't like you had any control over that situation when she rolled into town either. The difference though is the history and reputation. Hers was just that, hostile takeovers. I don't care for that. I have no interest in taking over someone else's company when I have my own that is thriving just fine on its own. If you had taken five minutes to look into my records, you would have seen that any company I've assisted in the same manner was returned to its owners after it was in the black for a solid year. No buy out needed. _Did_ you take those five minutes, or even had your assistant - what was her name? Felicity? You could have had her do the leg work, or let her speak for more than a minute of the immediate details before cutting her off, which I'm sure you did before walking away, not wanting to hear something that you were afraid of hearing," Bella responded with.

Running a hand through her hair, she shook her head. "But you are right about one thing. We probably did get off on the wrong foot and a fresh start might be a good idea, though it would be difficult with all of this looming over everything. We won't be able to run from it and I can assure you from experience, they won't let us try to hide either."

"Then let's not hide. Let's go for lunch, dinner or a museum together. For them a date, for us an opportunity to get to know each other. Sure, it will be something we'd have to fit into our busy schedule, but why not?"

Bella looked at him like he just sprouted two heads from his shoulder. "You're seriously asking me for a date?!" she practically screeched in disbelief as she scrambled to get as far away from him in the office as she could.

"Not a date. I don't do dates. But like you said, there's no hiding from this. Let's give them what they want without giving them what they want. They'll leave us alone eventually and we can go back to our lives."

"Well what you just fucking described sounds a lot like a fucking date!" she pointed out to him hysterically, probably to his friend's amusement.

"I. Don't. Do. Dates." Oliver repeated slowly, though it sounded hollow even to him.

"Then we don't need to go out," Bella said almost as slowly, calming down with some relief, but for some odd reason, a sense of disappointment was sitting deep insider her that was pissing her off.

"I have been here before, you know, before the island. They were tying me to girls I didn't know or they blew something up that was completely innocent. If we do what they expect us to do, they'll get bored and leave us alone." Oliver hadn't moved an inch in his seat, neither had Diggle from his position by the door. She obviously had something going on that spooked her when he suggested his idea. Probably something to do with her ex-boyfriend, but he wasn't going to pry and he was going to tell Felicity to stop digging. "I won't kiss you, I will not touch you."

Bella nodded but was still not liking the whole going out idea. "I guess we can figure something out, but start slower. Somewhere less public until I'm sure that I can deal with you in front of all of them without wanting to knock some teeth out - yours or theirs."

Oliver chuckled and nodded. "If you've figured out where, let me know. I'll have you take the lead on this, okay?" He got to his feet and didn't move towards her, she still looked like a deer caught in headlights. "Feel free to ask Laurel all about me and once again, I am sorry that we got off on the wrong foot yesterday. Have a good day, Miss Swan. I think it's time I deal with the board members about the stories in the papers." He had felt his phone constantly vibrate in his pocket, no doubt it were the board members. Or Laurel. Or Felicity, even. He hoped it would be Thea. He left his card on the chair with his phone number on it and left her office.

Bella only moved after the two left the office to pick up the card, hesitating to add the information to her cell phone. She considered forwarding her information to him but decided to wait. Collapsing into her chair, she closed her eyes as she feared what this new truce would bring to her life as she continued to lie to herself. Her mind shifted to the thoughts of another man from the night before, but wasn't sure what to make of the local hero. While she was sure they may have been cut of a similar cloth, she was hesitant to trust the masked man with the secret he was obviously observant enough to catch in the excitement of the fight. It also made her wonder if he might have the capabilities to help her find answers about this so called gift. Between Oliver and this hero, she was confused more than anything.

~o.O.o~

Once in the safety of the car, Diggle started to laugh as they drove away towards Queen Consolidated. Oliver frowned, he thought he had handled it all very well. He had managed to freak the woman out, but also managed not to have it escalate. He had treated her better than the night before, why was Diggle laughing so much? "What?" Oliver asked annoyed after five minutes. He really didn't stop, did he?

"She's hot."

"Is she? I hadn't noticed."

Diggle shot his friend a look through the rearview mirror. "I can't believe you said that with a straight face. She looked sizzling hot yesterday and that business suit today - wow."

"I'm sure Felicity can find her phone number for you, Dig."

"She thinks you're hot too," he said after a while to remind him what Laurel said, not believing that Oliver missed the look on Bella's face when he said that he didn't do dates. "I think she was looking forward to go on a date with you."

"I think you missed the part where she didn't know how fast she had to get away from the desk to put as much distance between us than necessary."

"Oliver…"

"This is a business arrangement, Diggle. Not anthing else," he said annoyed, looking out the window, setting his jaw in frustration. He didn't know what was worse; the media thinking that he and Bella were an item or his friend thinking that he should go for it.

They drove for awhile in complete silence and Oliver saw that Diggle was growing anxious over something and knew that he wasn't going to be quiet for long. "You really need to stop that, you know. Just because I'm saying something you don't want to hear, doesn't mean that it's not true."

He opened his mouth to deny it but didn't really know what to say. Diggle was right. Whenever things hit too close to home, he shut down. Thing was though, Bella _was_ attractive, yes. She was probably as damaged as him, or maybe even more, and he should cut her some slack. Oliver had done just that; he had spoken to her as Oliver, not as Mr. Queen, the entitled asshole. He had opened up to her because she had done it too; but that did not mean that they had to get together. He didn't need a relationship. He didn't want to date. He was fine on his own because that meant that one less person would be hurt when things would go as bad as last year.

"We're all thinking that you've had enough alone time, Oliver," Diggle's voice sounded softer. "You've been alone long enough, you need to stop hiding. We all have needs."

"I can't date anyone, Diggle. They'll only end up getting hurt, or frustrated because I run out on them all the time because other people need me." Then again, Bella had this weird ability that kept her safe from bullets, so maybe she'd be fine. But that was a big maybe.

"I think she could use someone in her life that's like you. You've been where she is right now."

"As I told her, I've only come this far because of people like you who didn't stop coming to me when I pushed you away."

"Then be that annoying person for her. That woman is frightened, she's scared of _something_ and she needs saving. And she doesn't need the Arrow, she needs a person."

"Can we just… not talk about her?"

Diggle snorted. "Yeah, I think that for now, you've had enough. Wait until Felicity gets her hands on you when I tell her what happened."

After placating the board members and signing a bunch of paperwork in his office that unfortunately took the rest of the day due to constant interruptions, he went to the hideout in Verdant and really hoped there was something going on so he could fight some people. Oliver was itching for a fight and he just needed to be alone, gone, vanish.

As he was suiting up, Felicity came in with dinner. "Oh no, you're not going out without having had something to eat. Diggle said you haven't eaten all day."

"I'm fine," Oliver grunted as he zipped himself up.

Felicity started to unpack the food that she had delivered from some new place called Alfredo's. She had taken the large salad that easily served four, a nice, spicy pasta dish that sounded too good to be true, and figuring that Oliver needed more comfort food, a huge steak and baked potato. "You're going to eat or I'll have Roy put an arrow through your leg."

"He wouldn't."

"Actually, he would. And he could. You've trained him well," she pointed to the plate of food. "Sit down and eat, Ollie. You'll feel better." She opened a bottle of water for him and crossed her arms over her chest while looking at him and waiting. If there was one thing she had learned from the past year, she had learned that Oliver didn't like it when people looked at him for a very long time and he'd either bolt or do as he was told. In a way, he was like a small child sometimes.

Oliver sat down with a sigh and started to eat and much to his surprise, it tasted phenomenal.

Breaking the silence, Felicity grinned. "I got an email from Barry and he told me to congratulate you for landing such a catch."

"Remind me to strangle him next time I see him."

"If you can catch him," she replied as she sat down in a chair opposite of her friend. "How does it taste?"

"It's really good," Oliver smiled at her as he handed her a fork. "Try it."

She reached for his plate and got something on her fork before taking a bite. It was hard not to moan as it was truly delicious and she wondered why had it taken so long for this chain to open in Starling City. "Wow," she said with a full mouth. "Hey, if it tastes this good delivered, it should definitely taste better at the restaurant."

"Yeah, probably," Oliver said with a nod.

"You should take Bella."

"Felicity!"

"I'm just saying! If you two are really going to do this media walk, then you should take her to Alfredo's. They deserve the clientele your appearance will bring them."

He looked up when the door opened and groaned when Laurel stepped through the door. There was no way he was going to get away now, she had this determined look upon her face and she'd kill him if he'd run away for no reason. All of a sudden, his plate filled with food was looking even more delicious than it already was and the coming conversation was not going to be a good one.


	6. 06: First Seeds

**Disclaimer: We own nothing from Arrow or Twilight. Actually, we **_**really**_ **don't want to own **_**anything **_**of Twilight to be honest, but wouldn't mind having Oliver tied up in one of our beds...alas, but a fantasy, so all we can do is pretend, with words. The plot is ours alone.**

**Authors Note: We just wanted to share that this story is actually **_**completed**_ **in writing. We are in the process of polishing the remaining chapters and planning out more surprises for you. There are **_**many**_ **Easter eggs hidden throughout this story. If you can find them all, you will get a preview of the yet untitled sequel. Much love from Meeko&Buggy.**

**~o.O.o~**

"Wow, Ollie. First me, then my sister and now my cousin? You really like the women in our family, don't you?" Laurel remarked as she held up the paper. She wasn't angry, not really. She had been practicing that line all day and had wanted it to sound genuine, not rehearsed in the slightest.

"I am not dating your cousin," he said as he continued to stuff his mouth.

"Yet."

"Not."

"Yet."

"Stop it."

"No, you stop it." Laurel hit Oliver on the head with the paper as Felicity made sure she had something to do on the computer. "I swear, Ollie, if you're going to hurt her…"

"I'm not!" He furiously pushed his plate away from him and looked at Laurel. "I am tired of you three ganging up on me about this. Nothing has happened or will happen, okay? Bella and I will handle this."

Laurel looked over at Felicity and frowned. "Can you give us a few? I need to tell him some things that I really don't want other people knowing yet without my cousin's permission."

"Oh," Felicity said a bit disappointed. "Oh, oh! Okay," she then smiled and took her tablet. "Permission to sit in your office upstairs? The club is a bit noisy to work in."

"Yeah, go ahead. Don't make a mess," Oliver sighed as he opened his shirt, this was going to be a long night and he wouldn't get a chance to flee. He kicked off his boots and tried to relax in his chair when Felicity was making her way upstairs.

Laurel sighed as she pulled a chair over and looked at her friend. "Bella is - a difficult person. She had it rough since high school but she did what she could. She used to date someone very much like you used to be but when he dumped her, something snapped inside her. She changed into this person, Oliver. Granted, it's good for her to be strong, but she also doesn't let anyone in anymore either. Not even family. If she is making even the slightest sign that she might let you in, then I'm happy if you are willing to give her a chance. A chance, Oliver. Not a marriage proposal."

"Dig said something along those lines as well. But why me, Laurel? I can't - I mean, what if - What if I, no, the Arrow, gets her into trouble, huh?"

"Why not you? And from what Dad tells me, Bella can take care of herself. Maybe she just need some extra training to get up to your level, which I'm sure you can help her with," she grinned knowingly, sending him a wink.

"I don't need extra people on the team, Laurel," Oliver said with an indulgent smile and sighed. "But you're right, it would be nice to have someone on the outside." He pulled his plate of food back to him. "So, any ideas on how I should approach this?" _Why was he even doing this? Because Laurel asked him to? Just like that?_

"Ask her on a date," she said obviously. "Are you really that much of an idiot? Never mind, don't answer that. But back to that comment about the team. While I think it would be great, it would have to be her choice and after you feel that you can trust her. She has a lot of hurt in her that needs healing before she can trust _us_."

Sighing, the man glared up at her in warning. "Is there any more you need to get off your chest?"

"Don't be an idiot. You may be the Arrow but my cousin can still be damn scary when she's pissed off. Just don't hurt her like the men before. That's why she acted like a bitch to you last night you know. She was attracted to you and with your history, she didn't want to get close. It's her typical M.O."

"I have a great record when it comes to women. Somehow I end up hurting every single one of them. So why are you so sure I won't do the same to her?"

"Because…" Laurel smiled at him. "You're ready. You're at a point where you are ready. You may not see it yet, but you are, trust me. That, and you don't _want _to hurt us again."

He sat there for awhile, mulling over what she said. He was irritated that she was right and eventually caved. "Alright," Oliver said with a smile on his face and put up his hands as if he was surrendering. "I'll try to ask her out again."

She looked back at him confused. "What? Wait. Again?" she questioned in a quiet and dangerous tone. "What did you do Oliver?"

"When I saw the news this morning about us, I went to her office to try to see what we can do about it but there was press already waiting there so I am afraid I only stirred the pot on that account. Anyway, I told her that for all of this to go away, we'd give them what they want without actually giving them what they want; go out to lunch together, dinner or whatever, and get to know each other that way. It sent her bolting across the office."

Laurel blinked slowly as she tried to picture the scene before laughing like crazy. "Wow. Okay, just wow. Next time, try asking her without anyone around or right after a media circus breathing down your necks. You can't blame the girl for being skittish when she was hit with all that in one morning. Luckily she had a quiet night after she left the club early so that might work in your favor of you try calling her tonight... "

Oliver shook her head. "Not such a quiet night. After she left, she didn't wait for a car so…" He shrugged and pointed at his outfit. "She put up a fight, I helped."

"Seriously? Damn. The girl is a walking danger magnet. For all the crap she attracted over the years, it's a wonder how she's not dead, " Laurel said shaking her head as she went to start cleaning up.

"As you said, she can defend herself," Oliver mused and stopped Laurel from packing things up. "I'm going to eat this all, cold or not, and I will go home to get some sleep myself."

"Right," she said suspiciously but left him to whatever he was up to. "Talk to you later."

Almost as soon as Laurel left, Felicity returned, hoping to find something from their conversation lingering for her to pick up. "Hey. Is there anything you need me to do?" she asked casually, looking around.

"Nope," he said as he packed up the food and smiled. "Thanks for the food. Go home."

"You sure?" she asked confused as she was normally working the computers. A night off sounded good, but still...

"Yeah, I'm sure," he said as he stripped himself from his outfit and got back into his clothes. "Even I am going home. I'm going to have a good night sleep, hopefully."

Felicity nodded but like Laurel, wasn't sure about him telling the truth about his intentions. She left without anymore objections, calling her friend once in the safety of her car to share theories but neither one was able to come up with a reasonable idea of what the man might be doing.

He understood why his friends didn't believe him when he said he was going home; he was never there and barely slept and yes, he was certain that if was going to try to sleep, that he'd wake up after an hour or two and he'd be fully awake. But he wasn't going to jump roofs and run around with a hood on his head either, not after having pigged out on the food that Felicity had given him - the traitor.

Oliver had things to take care of for Verdant; order extra cameras, training manuals for the staff and stuff like that. He was going to double check everything. Of course, he could go and talk to Bella, but, after today, maybe it was best to leave it for now. He switched off the lights of the basement and went upstairs.

It was a weekday night and yet, the club was packed to the rafters; he spotted a handful or two of reporters in the celebrating crowd as well and quickly made his way over to the stairs, nodding to Roy as a greeting. Not going home and showing his face in the club had been a bad decision.

He had sent Diggle home after he had dropped him off and there was no way that Oliver could go out in front and get a taxi home. Retreating back to the basement, he got into his suit and escaped. He was going back to the apartment, change clothes and then he was going to get some more of Alfredo's and bring it to his old house; a peace offering of a sort, if she accepted. All the jumping and running would empty his stomach anyway.

Oliver drove himself to his old house; no matter what people would say, he'd still think of it as his old house. There were a lot of memories in there and sadly, a lot of bad ones as well. No, it had been good to shed it, it was huge and he was all alone. He had brought a good bottle of wine and picked it up with the food as he left the car. Was she even going to open the door for him?

He hated it how nervous he felt as he walked to the front door, every step feeling as if he was walking to his own execution and that was just stupid. She was a beautiful woman and he was a big guy who could take care of himself, for fucks sake, he was the damn Arrow. Oliver took a deep breath and rang the doorbell.

Bella had been home alone as Charlie decided to take the rest of the week away from the city and media with the drama around her. She couldn't really blame him for it as it had become their routine. So when the doorbell rang, she hadn't expected any visitors. Grabbing her gun that she kept in the house, she made her way to the door, peeking through the curtain.

She couldn't help but to step back in surprise at the unexpected face. Biting her lip she was unsure of what to do at first but finally took a deep breath and slowly opened the door with the hand free from the weapon still held.

"Oliver?" she greeted curiously.

"Hi," he smiled at her and held up the bottle of wine and the food. "I am really sorry for being a jerk yesterday, for startling you today, and for whatever it is you'll get angry with me for tomorrow. I also hope you haven't eaten yet because that would make me look like an idiot."

Her eyes went from him to the bags and back a few times before she could form any words. "Umm, no. At least nothing that would count for anything," she admitted as she stepped back and waved him in with her armed hand, swallowing nervously.

He could tell she was nervous and this might have been a bad idea, but he didn't care. He smiled at her as he took a step inside and was gobsmacked by the transformation. "Wow. I love what you've done to the place."

"Thanks. I tried to keep the original feel of it from Laurels pictures of the house. It helped that you left a lot of the original furniture and artwork," she explained softly.

"I did. It wouldn't fit into the apartment anyway," he grinned. "Did you use anything of it?"

Bella looked back over her shoulder as if in debate with herself before making a decision. "Why don't you go look around at what I've done while I warm the food up and get some wine glasses out?"

"Sure," he smiled at her and handed her the bag of food. "The food's from this new place called Alfredo's, it's supposedly really good," he said as he wandered into the living room. For some reason, it looked bigger, more spacious and also a lot warmer than he remembered. The fireplace seemed to stand out but not take any of the focus away from anything else in the room. It was always one of his favorite features and he was glad she hadn't changed it at all as the wood had been something his father had worked on himself and the area held many memories.

When he was younger, Thea and he would sit in front of that fireplace, in their pyjamas and play. If they tossed a toy into the fire - every child is curious as to how something would burn to a crisp - they'd get scolded at and sent to their room. There was this one time where they didn't want to play together and they threw in most of their toys, engulfing the living room in a thick black smoke because it was not all wood that they burned. Their mother was mad at them for weeks while their father retreated to his study instead.

The already big windows looked even bigger, he supposed that was just how you dressed something. She had even installed a low window sill in which you could sit and watch the backyard from. It was just beautiful. He recognized a few paintings that he had left, although their old place had been the study or on the walls at the stairs; but how the living room looked now, they looked right where they belonged.

He wasn't going to venture out of the living room or past the hallway even though she had given him her permission. If there was anything left of the old furniture and she didn't use it, then maybe they could build a bonfire out of it and burn it all to ash. But if the rest of the house was anything like the living room, she had done a great job.

Bella had welcomed his willingness to look around while she made her escape into the kitchen to put the food into trays and into the oven to warm up. Her mind tried to make sense of this visit after the last two days' events, making her even more confused about the man.

As she opened the wine and left it on the counter to breathe, she thought about what might be driving the man to come see her twice in one day after she deliberately tried making him hate her to keep him away. That clearly didn't work so she was lost on the man and his quirks, curious that maybe he was as attracted to her as she was to him. She shook her head from that nonsense, knowing that if she did begin something with him, her father would send her for a psychiatric evaluation.

Huffing to herself from her thoughts, Bella pushed them aside as she opened cabinets, trying to recall where she stored the wine glasses. Being her luck, she found them on the top shelf, and had a hard time struggling to reach them as she begun to climb up on the counter.

Oliver had gone over to the kitchen - he was surprised he could find it as the cook never wanted him in there - as he was wondering what was taking Bella so long and to see her struggle to get wine glasses from the most top shelf of a raised cupboard was just - the sight caused him to stop short. _Absolutely breathtaking_, he thought. He then remembered what Laurel had said; that Bella was a danger magnet and her climbing on top of the counter counted as a dangerous situation.

"Let me help get that." In a few strides, Oliver was behind her, careful not to touch her more than necessary in their position. Which was hard - she was so close! He reached over her head for the glasses and set them down on the counter, but decided not to move. He could feel the heat of her body tingling on his skin, almost as if she was setting him on fire and surprisingly, it felt good.

Bella froze, remaining still as she turned her head to eye him in her usual cautious manner. She took in slow, deep breathes to keep herself calm but his scent was both strangely familiar and intoxicating to her. "Thanks," she murmured after he backed away enough for her to get down but she was unstable and reached out for his shoulder as she made her way down. His body heat burned through her hand as she slowly pulled it away, looking at him again. "So, um, what did you think?"

When she had reached for his shoulder, he stood absolutely still. Laurel would call this progress. He called it pure torture. It was almost like Bella was surrounded by a gravitational axis that pulled him in, but he was not allowed. He didn't want to overwhelm her. He needed to prove to her that he could be trusted, that he wouldn't hurt her. Unfortunately, the brief moment of contact had scrambled his head. "Uhm, about what?" Her? Hot and sexy - unfortunately, unavailable at the current moment. He was going to be careful with her.

She canted her head in confusion for a second. "The house?" she asked, almost unsure herself now as she blinked and looked away to clear her head. Bella moved passed him, brushing against him casually in the process, as she went to the oven to pull the food out and mixed it. Silently she got out plates and silverware before pausing. "Where would you like to eat? I had a movie running in the family room if you want to join me?" she offered almost shyly.

"Oh, yes, the house," he responded and scratched himself behind his head when she moved passed him. "I like it but I'm glad it's no longer in my hands," he continued with a smile. Despite not wanting to part with the mansion for sentimental reasons, it had been a good decision anyway, a way to start anew… sort of. He still had to spend a full day in his penthouse apartment. "And it's me intruding on your night home. If you were watching a movie, then let us continue watch that movie."

Bella kept an eye on him as she went to plate the food for them and grabbed extra napkins before balancing the dishes in her hands. Nodding towards the glasses and wine, "You mind?"

"No, not at all," he said as he picked up the glasses and the wine. "Do you need some help with that?" Oliver pointed to the plates of food she was holding and he didn't want her to fall over - that would be a waste of the food.

"No. I'm good," she replied easily as she made her way through the halls and back into the room where she had started when he had showed up on her doorstep. Setting the plates down on the coffee table, she grabbed the remote to start the movie she had ordered stop. "Is there anything in particular you prefer? I actually had a run in with Starling City's own version of a superhero so I had been feeling like a little bit of mocking humor after that, and today. If it's not your cup of tea - I'm game for something else. I thought I saw what might be a good horror movie on the list."

"Oh, mocking is good," Oliver said as he set down the glasses and started to pour the wine. "Did you run in to him or did you get into trouble?" He asked as he sat down on the couch. "Are you alright?"

Bella smiled to herself as she thought about the incident and shrugged. "Depends on how you look at it I suppose. It was after I left the club last night," she replied with a shrug. She looked up at him with a teasing grin. "A couple of idiots thought I was an easy target. They were wrong," she ended in a sing-song voice.

Oliver was quiet for a moment, humoured by her apparent carelessness. Yes, she could take care of herself - he had witnessed it in first hand, but it was still a bad idea to walk around in the Glades all by yourself, especially when you're a woman. "There's a reason why we have a taxi bay in front of Verdant. You know? To drive you home. I thought you were so intent on safety?"

Raising an eyebrow, she smiled. "I know. I was just impatient to get away from the place at the time. You don't see me blaming you for any of that, do you? I'm not running to my lawyers if that's what you're afraid of. I wonder what that guy did with them anyway…"

"What? The Arrow? He has your cousin's phone number…" Oliver said sheepishly as he looked at her. "Laurel told me."

"The Arrow? That's what he calls himself? Huh," she let out as she turned to the television thoughtfully before picking up the remote to restart _Robin Hood: Men in Tights_. "So…" Bella started to speak, but was unsure of what to say as she moved his plate beside her on the table so that they could watch the screen. "Laurel and the - _Arrow_? Do they have a thing or something?"

_Men in Tights_, _seriously? _Oliver chuckled as he shook his head. Oh, this was just brilliant. He slinked down to the floor, sitting next to her with his plate and took a sip of the wine. "She tried, I suppose," he said with a nod. "She certainly does a lot of…" _What was that word that Felicity often used? _he thought. "Fangirling over the guy."

"I can definitely see her doing that," she mused as she went to take a bite of the food. Her eyes slipped over to him as her body grew more aware of his presence. "I could understand the appeal for any woman who may have come into contact. It's hard not to with the whole mystery hero persona going on. Though, to be honest, he kinda reminded me of some of the men I employ who really just needs to be knocked down a few pegs and reminded he really is just a man who is remarkably skilled with a bow. It's only what he chose to do with those skills that seems to have gotten to his head. Or at least that's my opinion. I would happily hire him in a heartbeat. I could use a man like him on my roster. He could even continue moonlighting for all I care with those kind of skills."

Oliver shrugged as he tucked into his food. "I just see him as a guy who helps to clean up Starling City and that's one hell of a task, so I applaud him for that." He could feel the same effect she had on him in the kitchen right now and it really made it hard for him to focus. The food was - once again - delicious and the wine he had chosen absolutely complimented the food. "I'm just curious, what does your company do? Anything like a regular security firm or do you work outside the box?"

She looked up at him and grinned. "Well, I could answer that but I don't know. Really, we do a variety of duties and the levels vary depending on what the area needs. We do a lot of work in the private sector. Regular contracts for bodyguards and such for celebrities and names. Much like your friend that was with you this morning operates. We've also done some government jobs, since we can go into places that their people can't go as we are civilian. I research the training my people get personally and make sure that they get the best that is available. We all know that not everyone may come back - hazards of the job but I include in all my contracts a compensation package for their families to take care of them that includes a college tuition check for each child they leave behind they receive only when they graduate high school. There is more, but I don't want to bore you with depressing details like that."

He listened intensely as he kept eating. When she was finished, he nodded. "It's not boring or depressing, not at all. It's good that you're a good boss, it makes your clients and employees very loyal to you." He took a sip of his wine and gestured to the tv. "When not watching silly movies, what do you do for fun? To relax?" Oliver was so not good at this, he sounded like a twat.

Bella paused as she ate as she considered his question, trying to think of an answer. "Honestly, not much anymore," she said quietly. "Before the move, I just stopped going out, got tired of the fakeness of everyone wanting something from me."

"I can understand that," Oliver sighed as he gently pushed his now empty plate away from him. Two servings of Alfredo's in one night? It was going to hurt. He'd be surprised if he didn't explode. "When I returned from the Island I preferred to be outdoors but not out in the open, lucky for me, this house comes with a lot of ground around it so I just went for runs over the property… until Laurel and Diggle got inside my head and kicked my ass."

Pushing her own plate aside, she wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her cheek on her knees as she looked at him, taking him in. She could see the tiredness in his eyes and overall expression in his face. It wasn't just from lack of sleep because she knew it from something being that she was familiar with herself. "What was the island like?" she asked softly.

"Well…" He took a sip of his wine and another one before setting the glass down. How was he going to explain without revealing just how much he had learned there? "The Chinese name for it is Yian Lu, purgatory. The Chinese government used to send their prisoners there so when I stranded, I thought I was alone. I was wrong. The five years I spent there were…" he paused for a moment, trying to find the right word. "Hell. I aligned myself with people who taught me how to take care of myself, taught me different languages and survival and if it wasn't for the miracle healing herbs growing on that island, I wouldn't even have made it back."

Raising her head, she eyed him curiously as she had indeed heard of that island in whispers when she would travel to China for business as she had a contract in the country - not that she advertised that one. "Well, you're back and safe. That's what matters, right?" she smiled as she reached over to refill their wine glasses, glancing back at him.

"It depends on how you see that, I suppose," he said with a slight shrug. "What about your demon then? Why didn't your father just shoot him?" If he had learned anything from Detective Lance, it was that he was very protective of his girls. No doubt it ran in the family as Bella's father had moved to Starling City with her.

Confused, she looked at him. "Who are you talking about?"

He smiled at her. "I'm not the only one who's observant. You called him… _Doucheward_. Seeing how you reacted this morning to my proposal of how to handle the media attention… I take it that he's an ex-boyfriend?" He took a sip of the wine. "You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to."

Awareness filled her as she sat up in amusement. "Ah. Yeah. The asshole that started everything. He had dumped me back in high school in the middle of the woods right when a storm hit. I had gotten lost trying to get home, and was caught in it. Ended up in the hospital for almost two weeks before I heard from his family. When they heard that I had almost died from what happened - of course he had lied about how he left me - they tried to cover it up. We were up to our ears in hospital bills already and I had enough of their crap. The only way I was going to keep my mouth shut was if they gave me his trust fund and anything else I asked for until I graduated college. Then I was free from them. Every now and then I get a call from Daddy Dearest as he tries to sell me his son's accomplishments, thinking I'd be willing to take him back and maybe one day marry the idiot but they only showed their true colors all those years ago. I keep in touch with his sister though. She was beyond pissed at him."

He listened to her story and nearly felt his jaw drop to the floor. "Wow, what an asshole!" Now he realised why Laurel said what she had; in the past, he had treated girls he dated like crap but nothing like this. However, he knew a handful of rich kids who did that, and it was not done. Oliver was more of the 'ignore it and it'll go away' type of guy. "I'm sorry that you met someone like him."

"That's why I like as much honesty as possible. If someone doesn't want to be with me, that's fine. Just say so. Don't try leaving then crawl back when you realize you're not going to find someone better. Shit like that only pisses me off more and I am not ashamed to say that I like my revenge. Keep a break up clean and I'm good, just don't screw with me because I will go for whatever you hold dear. Edward always looked forward to his trust fund. Aaron babied his company. Both became mine," she smiled.

"So it _does_ run in the family then," Oliver chuckled as he saw the confused look on Bella's face. "It's that Laurel physically couldn't do it, but she would have had my balls for the stunt I pulled with her and Sara. I was lucky that she only avoided me for a very long time and now she's a very good friend of mine."

Pursing her lips, she looked him over, giving him a thorough staredown, but subconsciously - a good eyefucking at the same time. "I'm sure that if she's got any resentment from that incident, I can get a few shots in myself on her behalf," she smirked.

What was it with this woman? She was drawing him in - no, reeling him in, as if he was a fish - and there was nothing that could stop it apart from being needed somewhere else. He had subconsciously started to lean into her, and he wanted to pull back, because he was in her personal space, but he was okay where he was, as long as she didn't say anything… She was in control, it was something she needed - although, Oliver mused to himself, if this was going anywhere, in time, she was going to have to deal with it that he liked to be in control as well. "I could definitely see you try."

Bella smiled back at him, a glint in her eye as she met his. Breathing in his scent as he was incredibly close, she could feel her eyes begin to drift closed as her face loomed closer to his. Almost as soon as their lips would meet, a crack of thunder rumbled through the house, causing her to jump away as the power cut out in the house. "What the fuck?" she grumbled, pissed off as she jumped to her feet as she nearly knocked their glasses over on the table as she crashed into him solidly.


	7. 07: Trust but Verify

**Disclaimer: We own nothing from Arrow or Twilight. Actually, we **_**really**_ **don't want to own **_**anything **_**of Twilight to be honest, but wouldn't mind having Oliver tied up in one of our beds...alas, but a fantasy, so all we can do is pretend, with words. The plot is ours alone.**

**~o.O.o~**

"Relax," Oliver smirked after getting to his feet at the same time she did and when she fell into him, he couldn't help but put her arms around her to keep her on her feet. "This is an old house. I can find the fuse box with my eyes closed and I hope that nothing's damaged, otherwise you're going to have to bring out the candles and light that fireplace." Wow, she smelled so good, it was intoxicating and smelled like _being home_. And that was a little bit disconcerting to him, as he had not seen it coming. "It's just a storm."

Bella was still as he held her and nodded. She hadn't checked the forecast and didn't anticipated bad weather. Storms and her did not go particularly well after ten years since her break up with Edward, as it was truly the only thing in her life that came close to really claiming her life. "I don't like storms for obvious reasons mentioned," she said as she looked up at him, her fingers twisting the hem of his shirt in the darkness of the room as she continued to hold onto him when the windows lit as a flash of lightning crossed the sky.

"Alright, don't worry," he gently rubbed her back. "You obviously won't be okay all by yourself while I go and check the fuse box… so… why won't you hop onto my back? It's easier to walk like that."

She scoffed at his suggestion, no matter how much it appealed to the woman in her to get as physically close to him as she could like that. For his suggestion, she fisted her hand and ran it into his gut hard, impressed with the solid body it met. "I'm fully capable of walking, thank you," she murmured in the darkness. "Just stay close is all, Caveman."

He seemed pleased with himself as he moved around her and slowly started to walk towards the basement where the fuse box was. Oliver carefully maneuvered down the stairs; if it had been just him, he'd have walked faster but he didn't want her to end up getting hurt and found the fuse box. He fumbled around it to get it to open and tried to find the flashlight that he knew he had left there when he moved. "Where are the flashlights?"

Bella pulled out her cell phone and held it up with a shrug. "Shut up. I know what you're thinking," she glared at him. "I don't know. My dad must have moved things around down here. This was supposed to be his work space for some of his hobbies."

"Hmm," he said as he looked at the fuses. They were all blown and he couldn't see any spare. "We're fucked, unless you have some fuses upstairs somewhere?" He kept clicking the control panel buttons to see if everything worked, but to no avail, and while he did that, he quickly looked around to see if he could find hedgeclippers, just to be on the safe side.

Bella remained quiet as he worked but when he announced his verdict she wasn't happy. "That's what I hire people for Oliver. Do I really look like I would know anything about this stuff? I mean my dad was a cop sure, so I can find my way around weapons but this shit?"

"Oh, I understand completely," he said with a nod. "I mean, I grew up in this house and we had staff waiting on us hand and foot. I'm surprised I could tie my own shoelaces." He slammed the fuse box shut and gently took her arm. "So, where do you keep the candles?"

"Umm, well, I do have some ..." she said, biting her lip. "They are upstairs..."

"Seriously?" Oliver said surprised. "Please don't tell me that they're still in a box you need to unpack…"

"No. They're in my room..."

"Okay, let's go upstairs to your room to get some candles," he said as he carefully walked back up the stairs of the basement and really hoped that the thunderstorm had gone away so that at least Bella wouldn't be paralyzed by fear. And why on earth did she keep candles in her room? That was so… unpractical.

When they reached the hallway that led to the bedrooms, Bella turned, knowing her way from her first sleepless nights of exploring in the dark. "I'm on this end. I gave Charlie the master suite. Didn't really suit me anyway, if you could believe it," she joked before looking at him seriously. "And don't make fun of my room."

"My mother and Walter had the master suite," Oliver said with a nod. "Thea had the other bedroom on that end… the guest room was over there and you… you are sleeping in my old room."

Bella didn't know what to say to that really. "Awkward... Um well, I sometimes use candles to calm down after a stressful day and I had them out last night. They are the scented tubs from the department store but they last for hours."

"Well, that's good then, at least we'll have some light," he smiled, waiting at the doorstep so she could go and fetch her candles. "And how can I make fun of your room when I can barely see anything?"

She didn't want him in there but at the same time, with the way the thunder was booming outside, her nerves were continuously on edge. "No. It's alright. You can come in. I trust you won't break anything. I'll just get Laurel after you."

He followed her inside, keeping his distance but putting his hand on the small of her back. "It's just flashes of lights and some noise, nothing more." Oliver spoke softly and encouragingly. "The big building around you will catch any bolt of lightning coming near you as it's bigger than you."

"Easy for you to say when you weren't almost killed by a storm," she complained as she led the way to get bed side table where the freshest candle she knew was.

"Says who?" He snorted. "Besides, you're still here. You're in this big, old, dark house that you bought with your own success money, while there's a storm on the loose and with a guy who is considering to buy a tent, wait for the weather to get worse and get you to camping with him while it's this bad, but that would be mean." He said jokingly.

"Yeah. No. I'd rather cut my hand off before going outside in that," Bella snapped as she fumbled for the lighter on the table and lighting the first candle. "There!" She exclaimed as she held it up to him with a grin.

"Congratulations, you discovered the power of fire and the use of a string and wax to create light!" Oliver cheered at her.

"Pompous asshole. I have a couple more jars in the closet," she glared as she pointed him in the directed of the door to the area.

Snorting as he suppressed the laugh that threatened to escape, he made his way over to the closet, but as he opened it, a garment landed on his head. He pulled it off his face and noticed that it was the mindblowingly sexy dress that she wore the previous day. "Hey, I thought you said you didn't get hurt yesterday? Then why is your dress hurt?"

"It got ripped in the fight. Nothing major," she replied easily, completely unconcerned as she was busy searching through the drawers in the room for something.

"Is that a bullet hole?" He said, making a spectacle of trying to inspect the dress in not enough light.

Bella's head snapped up as she stared at him wide eyed. "No. If it was, then surely I wouldn't be here. Right?"

He carefully folded the dress and put it back in the closet. "Right," he said with a nod and noticed the jars. Alright then, he thought to himself, definitely something for _him_ to dig in to. He picked up four jars and looked at her. "I'm ready."

She was locking the drawer as he walked out and turned to look at him with some hesitation. "Great. How about we grab some pillows and blankets and set up downstairs? You may as well stay the night..."

He hesitated for a moment. If this storm continued for a few more hours or so, she'd be terrified, all alone in one big house, surely he couldn't put her through that? And did he really want to get soaked? Well, he had a car so he wouldn't get too soaked but did he really want to leave her alone with her fears? No. Laurel would kill him. "Yeah, alright. Give me a pillow or two or a couple of blankets, whatever you prefer. I have one arm free."

"Sure." Bella gathered the extra linen she kept in the room so that they didn't have to bump around the house. Grabbing the pillows from her bed, she hit Oliver with one in the chest with a smile and handed off a blanket to him. "There you go."

What was it with her hitting him? First her fist, now a pillow? "Ready to go downstairs?" He asked as he started to walk towards the stairs. When he did, lightning struck the tree next to the window he was standing at. Thankfully, the tree survived, but he wasn't sure about Bella. "Bella?"

Bella took cover and curled into a ball against the wall as she shook. Her hands covered her head as hot tears fell silently. "I hate this. Why won't this stop? I'm not weak! I'm not!"

Oliver quickly dropped the stuff he was holding and slid down to her, gently putting his arms around her. She was shaking like a leaf and he felt so sorry for her. He definitely couldn't leave tonight. Not when she was like this. "I think you're actually very strong," he said softly and gently pulled her into his lap. "You actually have the guts to be afraid of something."

She curled into him on instinct as he held her. She tried to settle down but it was difficult. Her fear was a decade long problem that wouldn't be fixed overnight. Her head tucked into his shoulder as she let him try to soothe her. "Thank you for this. I'm sorry for troubling you with my problems."

"It's no trouble," he smiled at her and rubbed her back reassuringly. "I think you're very brave to move around the house with me with that thunderstorm going on and up until now, you've done great." He knew what it was like, to fear something. In the past, he'd like to think that he was fearless, until he arrived on the island and realized that he was the most inadequate shipwreck survivor ever. "And I think it's great that instead of fleeing into your room, you stayed on the landing."

Her arms tightened in response but she said nothing else as the events are wearing down in her. While she was calming down, she was also nodding off as she had taken to focusing on his breathing when the storm was particularly heavy around the house. Her hands fell limp on their laps as she slept against him on the stairs.

After a while, after he was sure that she was asleep, he took her into his arms and got to his feet, trying not to disturb her, before finding his way to the bedroom and carefully put her in bed. He then retrieved the blankets from the landing and covered her up before closing the curtains and lit a few candles as he sat on the floor, keeping an eye on her.

When another heavy crack followed, she stirred and started to thrash around in her sleep and he decided to get into the bed to put his arms around her, as it had worked so well before. "It's okay," he said softly to her as he ran his hands over her arms. To be honest, he wanted to kill the person who made her so fearsome of the beautiful as a thunderstorm.

And as he thought about it more, this storm appeared to be one of the worst they've had in years and it almost seemed unnatural. Whenever they moved through the house, the storm would hit at that side. Once was coincidence, twice could another coincidence but three times was a pattern. No, this wasn't natural and he sure as hell was going to look into this.

He took his phone out of his pocket and realized that he still had a signal and decided to text Felicity. _Any idea when this storm is going to end?_

_What storm?_

That was weird. If Felicity didn't have a storm going on where she lived, then it was another clue that this wasn't a natural occurrence. _The storm that's currently outside?_

_Are you drunk?_

Oliver frowned with concern at that and put his phone away. Bella had settled again, and as he had a flashlight in the back of his car - and a bow, if needed - he was going to have a look around the house. Maybe, hopefully, chasing the source away. He tried to move from Bella but with all that had happened, she had a fierce hold on him and refused to let go in her sleep. Sighing, he decided not to move and got his phone back out instead. _Call Diggle, ask him to secure the perimeter of Bella Swan's house, please._

_Can't you do it?_

_Not at the moment, no._

_Are you naked?_

_I'm indisposed. Not naked._

_You need saving?_

_FELICITY!_

_Okay, okay, jeez, hold your horses. Diggle is on his way and gawd, I could hear you yell at me through text! THROUGH TEXT, OLIVER._

He put his phone back into his pocket and tried to relax on the bed with Bella in his arms, which was hard. It had been a while since he had to share a bed with someone other than himself and she was attractive and she was scared. He was doing this because she was scared and she felt safe with him, sort of safe? Safer than being alone? Yes, that was it. He was currently a means to the end of her being so scared. Nothing more. But he had to relax so that he could influence her feelings as well. But maybe there was someone outside… _Stop it,_ he told himself. Diggle was on his way. He'd take care of this. Right now, the best thing he could do was being Oliver Queen.

It was agony, waiting for a text from either Felicity or Diggle. It seemed to take longer than usual; it wasn't that long of a drive from Diggle's house to Oliver's old house and if there was no one out there, it wouldn't take long to clear the grounds surrounding the house either. However, it seemed like the storm had stopped.

_There's no one outside, Oliver._ _And no storm, either._

_Okay. Thanks._

_Are you high?_

_No?_

_Care to come out and explain?_

_It'll have to wait until tomorrow. Goodnight. _He put his phone away again and continued to hold Bella. He wouldn't be able to go to sleep anyway.

When a slither of daylight came through the closed curtains, Oliver managed to untangle himself from the still sleeping Bella and went downstairs to make them some breakfast. He opened the fridge and frowned at how empty it was. There were some eggs, some bacon and… not much else he could work with. Not that he was a good cook anyway, but he could fry an egg and add the bacon, no problem.

He found some stale bread as well and then decided to make French toast instead. French toast with a good cup of coffee. And bacon. And as soon as Bella would kick him out, he was going straight for Verdant and bully Felicity in doing research for him. Well, he didn't have to bully her into doing anything, really, but it often felt like he was one demanding son of a bitch.

He put Bella's breakfast on a tray and headed back upstairs to her room and now that it was daylight, he could see that her bedroom was nothing to make fun of; it was just her, to be honest. It fit and it wasn't ridiculous. Well, maybe the pink chair was a little bit overboard, but hey, who was he to judge?

"Good morning," he said softly as he put the tray down on a side table.

She sat up, looking around confused. "Morning. When did the storm finish?" she asked before her nose caught the food he brought. "Mmm coffee..."

"Around two a.m, I think. I don't know, I didn't really keep the time," he said as he handed her the mug of coffee. "Did you sleep okay, other than the storm?"

Bella eagerly accepted the coffee and took a sip as she watched him. "You stayed with me?"

"Yeah, I did," Oliver said with a nod. "I didn't want you to be alone after you got so scared."

She looked towards the window in wonder for a moment. "I was pretty bad, wasn't I?"

"Being afraid is nothing to be ashamed of, Bella," Oliver said as he sat down on the edge of the bed. "It's what makes us human, it's what makes us feel. It's just unfortunate that something natural scares the crap out of you because of what you've been through. The weather is not exactly something you can control."

"It's been pretty bad here at night I have to admit. That's probably one of the worst storms since I've moved here," she smiled at him as she pushed the covers back and set the mug on the end table. "At least I managed to sleep through some of it this time so I'm counting this as a win in my book."

"It's usually not so bad," Oliver smiled and gently pat her leg. "I think you've done very well." There hadn't been a storm for months, the weather wasn't anything like that at the moment - no indications of a storm brewing or whatever - and he had decided not to tell her. It could be mean of him, but he didn't want to alert her until he had looked into it. "You know you can always call me, right? Or Laurel, for that matter, when it's storming so bad you freeze up."

She wasn't so sure about calling anyone as usually she had Charlie with her. Laurel didn't know about her problem and she really wanted to avoid including another person in on her issue. The thought alone made her a bit agitated, but now that he knew, she also didn't wanted to impose on him. "Thanks," she only said, fairly certain she would make that decision.

"I mean it, Bella. I saw how frightened you were yesterday and I hate for you to be alone with your fears while your father is away." He gently squeezed her leg that he previously had pat and got to his feet. "Will you be alright now? I need to get going, get a fresh change of clothes before I head into work and all."

Bella smiled and nodded, already missing his company. "Yeah. I'll be okay. I'm going to call in and take the day I think. Maybe catch up on my sleep. You know Oliver... If you need anything also, you could call too."

"If you want, I could send Roy around with fuses for the fuse box," Oliver said with a nod. "And have him leave some spares as well," he grinned. "At least that way you'll have lights and television again."

She nodded her acceptance. "Sure. Just make sure he knows I may be passed out at some point," she joked.

Oliver nodded as he gently took her hand and planted a kiss on it. "Have a good day, Miss Swan," he said jokingly with a smile on his face. "If there's anything you need, just call." With that, he left the house. He headed straight for Verdant, stopping on the way for breakfast and coffee, and put it on the table. It was still too early, both Felicity and Diggle were not there yet so while the computers were booting up, he freshened himself up.

Felicity was there when he was done, gratefully munching on one of the breakfast muffins. "So, how was your night?" She grinned.

"There was a storm," Oliver said as he pointed at the computer. "Could you check the weather for me for last night?"

"There wasn't a storm going on, Oliver." Felicity sighed as she put down the muffin, cleaned her fingers and pulled up the weather history, showing just that; officially, there was no storm.

"And the nights before that?"

"Nada. Apart from a little bit of rain." Felicity looked at him with a worried look on her face. "Are you okay, Oliver?"

"Yes, Felicity, I'm fine," Oliver replied, sounding a bit frustrated as he took a sip of his coffee. "Is there any way you can see if there were electro magnetic energies last night?"

"No, but I can keep an eye on them tonight if you'd like?"

He huffed as he sat down, thinking what his next step would be. Security cameras. Bella had security cameras around the property and should the cut of power have affected the cameras, at least there was hope that they caught something. "Do you think you can hack into the security feed at Bella Swan's house?"

"Sure," Felicity said with a nod. "Although I hate to be me when she finds out and gets angry."

"Don't worry about that."

"Did you two…" Felicity asked as her fingers flew over the keyboard. "Hey, Ollie, the power is out, I can't get into the system. It's usually not a problem as most security firms host their footage in their own data centre but Miss Swan's system is self contained, everything is at that house."

"Right, I forgot about that. Call Roy and have him go to her house with a dozen or so fuses and a flashlight, I promised her I'd send him over."

"You two did, didn't you?" Felicity said with a smile on her face, after calling Roy with Oliver's request.

"No, we did not, Felicity. We talked all night because the storm was so bad I couldn't leave the house." She did not need to know that Bella had been so shaken up because of the storm that her body eventually just shut down and she needed to stay out of his business.

"Oliver, when was the last time you've slept?"

"Two days ago. For about an hour or so, I dunno." He said with a shrug.

"Go to sleep. Until the power's running at that house, I can't access anything anyway. I promise I'll be quiet."

"I'm fine."

"Yeah, sure you are. But I know you and if you think something's up, you'll be at that house again tonight and don't sleep again. So." She pointed at the field bed. "Catch some Z's. You're no use to her if you're not on top of your game."

He knew she was right, of course. He'd done days without sleep, but if he was going to pull another night like the previous one - which was far more exhausting than staying up all night being the Arrow mostly due to inactivity - then he needed some sleep. Yes. He put his coffee down and made his way over to the field bed and lay down.

~o.O.o~

After Oliver left, Bella ate some of the breakfast he had made her, finding that her thoughts drifted to him more often than she thought they would. Sighing, she changed into a pair of sweats and climbed back into bed, still feeling quite tired from the night before and the overall lack of sleep catching up to her. While she had survived on naps through the day before to function, the previous week had been the longest she'd had to go without sufficient rest.

She didn't know how long she was out when the her cell phone was ringing, waking her. Grabbing it, she quickly answered it. "Swan," she mumbled into it as she rubbed her eyes, glancing at the wall clock on the wall, noticing it was after lunch.

"_Miss Swan, it's Roy Harper, Mr. Queen sent me over with some fuses and he had me do some shopping as well. Could you let me in, please?"_

Bella blinked for a moment before nodding. "Oh uh, yeah sure. I'll be right down," she replied, slightly confused. She hadn't expected Oliver to be so quick with his promise to fix her power problem. She had every intention of calling someone when she woke up so she was feeling a bit unsure as she made her way to the front door.

At seeing who was at the door she slowly grinned in amusement. "Chuck!"

"Yes ma'am," Roy grinned as he stuffed his phone back into his pocket. "Mr. Queen said you didn't have any food in the house and he asked me to pick something up for you."

"Pompous asshole," she muttered as she held the door open for him. "Come on in. He is a nosy fuck. I'll have to deal with him. I tend to get a lot of take out, thank you."

Roy chuckled as he made his way to the kitchen. "To be honest, miss, this is the first time I've had Mr. Queen send me on an errand run for a woman." He set the bag on the counter and started to put things in the fridge. There were fresh fruits, a loaf of bread, enough meat to feed an orphanage and some other food necessities.

Bella eyed all the food skeptically, wondering what the man was thinking. "That asshole better be planning on coming and cooking this himself because I'm not doing shit. My father isn't going to be back for at least a week as when rumors like ones after the club opening starts, it usually takes that long before they start leaving the company out of it and he wants nothing to do with that. I don't have time to cook for myself when it's just me dealing with everything. Your boss is a big jerk!"

Roy smiled and nodded. "That he is, ma'am." After he was done putting stuff away, he held up the box with the fuses. "Even though I know my way around this house, I have no idea where the fuse box is."

Bella showed him the way to the basement and hung around, but not really absorbing what he was doing. She knew it would be beneficial for her to know but she had other concerns that a fuse box just didn't rank. Such as the many ways to torture Oliver Queen.

Once he had replaced all the fuses, he switched on the control panel buttons and he could hear the entire house coming back to life, including the TV in the family room. He put the spare fuses on the floor and placed a flashlight at the box as well. "All done. Is there anything else I can do for you, Miss Swan?"

"Tell Oliver he's dead," she replied casually as she gestured towards the kitchen. "Other than that no. I might come by the club tonight if I can't sleep though. We'll see. Thanks Chuck."

Roy nodded. "I shall tell him, Miss Swan. Have a good day." With that, he left Bella Swan's house and headed back to the club, laughing on his way back and by the time he had reached Verdant, he was just crying. It was hilarious to see his boss in denial, while the attraction was most definitely there. Also; she wasn't as scary as he thought she'd be.

"Shh!" Felicity hissed at Roy as he entered the basement. "He's sleeping."

Roy sat down next to Felicity behind the computer and moved his face closer to hers so he could whisper. "She definitely has the hots for him."

"Good, she could do with someone like him…" Felicity pointed to her computer screen. "Her previous boyfriends. Douche and douchier."

"Want me to break out the popcorn?" Roy mused as he watched the screen.

"Douche uno, Aaron, didn't realize what kind of catch Bella was when he broke off their relationship. After an article came out about her being one of the new up and comers of entrepreneurship, he wanted her back. Her revenge was all over the media and she succeeded in breaking _him_. She took everything, including his company. Douchier dos, Edward, well… not much is known about her relationship with him because it was before she got into the media and such, but his family paid for her education and she received money from them; I'm guessing something happened that they didn't want to get out."

"Interesting," Roy said with a nod before getting up. "I have to go upstairs to do bar stuff, I believe new cameras are arriving today and they need to be hung and more stock."

"Shhh!" Felicity said, smacking Roy on the back. "He's sleeping!" She turned back to her computer as Roy made his exit, running background checks on Bella's ex-boyfriends and their immediate family at the same time as she was trying to hack into Bella's security system to see if there was any footage of last night. When she didn't find any - obviously, the power was out - she looked at the day before, and the day before that and she was surprised to see a storm there.

Checking the meteorological data, the storm shouldn't be there, especially not a couple of nights in a row. She saw something moving from the corner of her eye on the footage from three days ago; a male in a hoodie. Thankfully, the cameras at the house were good quality cameras so she took a couple of screenshots and started to work on enhancing the image to get a good shot of this person's face. It took a while, but eventually she had something she could work with and let the facial recognition programme run it.

Felicity took a sip of the now cold coffee as she looked at the list of names that her other programme had come up with; this Edward Cullen guy had a large family and not all of them had clean hands. If they lived in Starling City, the Arrow would have done something about these people. "Oh Bella," she sighed as she shook her head.

Edward's brother Jasper had been arrested several times for instigating fights and disorderly conduct, sister Alice was a shoplifter and another brother was arrested for solicitation. Edward himself seemed to be squeaky clean apart from some traffic tickets. There was another sister, Rosalie, but she seemed to be as clean as a whistle, even doing charity work and donating a lot of time and money into rebuilding broken families. But the real danger came from the parents of these kids. All cases had been thrown out in court because the evidence never stuck, but accusations of extortion and even second degree murder were serious allegations. The Cullens must have some serious pull in their world.

And Bella managed to get money from them? She was a powerhouse. Definitely. But now, Felicity was worried that these people would eventually get to Bella, even though she was the boss of a highly recommended security firm.

Facial recognition came back with a Peter Warren, a Central City resident and wanted for electrocution? That didn't make sense, at all. Digging deeper, she found that he was actually an escapee from S.T.A.R. labs, where Barry had spent nine months in a coma after said lab's particle accelerator became unstable and exploded. Barry had emailed her about this; apparently the explosion itself had killed a lot of people and it had created a freak thunderstorm that hit a lot of people as well; people like Barry, who was currently as fast as lighting; the Flash. He had said that Doctor Wells referred to him as a metahuman, Barry had been a carrier of the 'metagene', a gene that was, is, the next step in evolution and the thunderstorm that hit him had activated it. And Barry hadn't been the only person with the gene to get hit by the storm.

Felicity wished that Oliver wasn't asleep right now and if he hadn't needed the sleep, she would have woken him. She couldn't wait to tell him all about what she had uncovered.


	8. 08: 20 Questions

**Disclaimer: We own nothing from Arrow or Twilight. Actually, we **_**really**_** don't want to own **_**anything **_**of Twilight to be honest, but wouldn't mind having Oliver tied up in one of our beds...alas, but a fantasy, so all we can do is pretend, with words. The plot is ours alone.**

**~o.O.o~**

He woke up from the smell of fresh coffee and the hushed voices of Diggle and Felicity. It was time he woke up anyway, he'd already spent too many hours out cold. Oliver had to admit though, he had needed the rest.

"Good morning, sunshine," Diggle greeted him with a smile and handed him a styrofoam cup of coffee. "Slept well?"

Oliver just looked at his friend as he gratefully took the coffee and took a sip. _Oh, this was good coffee, very good coffee indeed_, he thought as he tried to rub the sleep from his eyes. He sat down at the table, taking another sip. "What did you dig up, Felicity?"

"Well, first of all, Roy came back and told me all about how Miss Swan wants to get into your pants," Felicity said with a smile. The remark had him choking on his coffee as he looked up at her, gasping for air. "He said that she said that with all that food, you'd better swing by tonight to cook it for her."

"Yeah, not going to happen," Oliver said as he pointed to his bow. He was going to hunt tonight. Whoever was responsible for the freak storms over the last few days at the mansion, was going to pay for it. He wasn't going to kill the bastard, but would turn him over to Detective Lance who would likely share similar feelings for someone who caused his family so much grief. "I'm listening," he prompted Felicity, who, in turn, started to tell Oliver all about the Cullen family and it made his blood boil. He agreed that they were still posing a threat to Bella, but he was more curious about the freakish storms and even that Felicity had figured out. "Hold on… a metahuman?" The term wasn't alien to him, as soon as Felicity had received that email from Barry about it and she had filled everyone in on what happened.

"Yeah, caused by the same freak storm that hit Barry and -"

"Is it detectable in DNA?" he asked curiously, his thoughts turning to Bella and the scene on the street with the would be muggers.

"Well, according to the research of Doctor Wells, the metahumans are born with a dormant metagene. In very rare cases, the gene is active without any trigger and there are a few people that live with extraordinary gifts. Such as… I don't know, the ability to grow flowers on barren land? Self healing?"

"What about a personal shield to protect yourself from bullets?" Oliver offered, which was met with two pairs of raised eyebrows.

"In theory… Oh! No way!" Felicity exclaimed, quickly catching on.

"Maybe," Oliver pointed out. "She hasn't spoken with me about it. Well, she has but you know." He once again pointed at his bow behind him. "Maybe I could have her talk to _him_ about it to find out what she knows. I was planning on hunting anyway."

"Lightning could kill you, Oliver. At least take me or Roy with you," Diggle said.

"No, I need to know how this person manipulates the weather first, how accurate he is. I don't want him to kill either one of you." He got to his feet and walked to his array of arrows. He had plenty of trick arrows, one with flares on them as soon as they hit something solid. "For when he plunges her house in darkness again," he said, stuffing them into his quiver along with normal arrows.

"Yeah, but if you're going to cook at her place…"

"I'll figure something out. I think that she already suspects anyway and isn't mentioning it. It's her job to have secrets and to guard them."

"You're not worried? Oliver, we don't know if she can be trusted," Diggle said cautiously as he leaned against Felicity's desk. "This woman isn't even back into your life for a week after not even remembering her as a kid and you're already thinking about revealing yourself?"

"No, but if she already suspects, then there's nothing I can do about it, can't I?" Oliver said, still with his back turned to his friends as he checked the rest of his arrows and the rest of the equipment on his suit. "I want you to track down her father and keep an eye on him from a distance, he's out fishing somewhere. If this Peter guy is after Bella, he might be after her father as well."

"Somewhere narrows it down… a lot…" Felicity said softly as she fired up her keyboard.

He stuffed some perimeter alert arrows into his quiver as well and started to suit up, the rest of his stuff, including his clothes, he put into a duffel bag. "I'm going to do one sweep now, get changed, take my duffel bag with me, and do another one if I get the chance. If I need anything, I will call."

"I still think this is a bad idea," Diggle said, shaking his head. Childhood friend or not, if Bella knew, it was one more person who was going to be in so much potential danger, one more person to make sure that they were safe.

"What's your plan then?"

"As I said, have me and Roy handle the outside."

"No, not until I know what we're up against." Oliver said as he zipped up his vest.

"Oliver…"

"It's not something we can discuss, Diggle. I'd rather have something that hurts me, than hurt you." He said aggravated and picked up his things. "Let me know if you find out anything else." And with that, he left the basement and headed to his car. He knew a spot on his old property where the car would be well hidden from Bella's view and it was close to a good vantage point.

~o.O.o~

After Chuck had left, Bella spent most of the afternoon making calls for work, making sure things were going well with the set up in the new city. She had taken home paperwork to review so she had set herself up in the kitchen where the light from the afternoon sun was coming in through the windows was the strongest and smiled to herself as she looked out the window briefly. She hoped that night would be a quiet one for once.

Having grabbed an apple at some point from the delivery Oliver had sent with his repairman, Bella had gotten herself lost in her reports, failing to take notice initially of the darkening skies around the property. Her concentration broke only when her cell phone rang with her friend's ringtone, making her groan in protest.

"Tell your father the answer is still no," she answered the phone as she began to put her work away for the night, knowing that traditionally these calls rarely were short.

The laugh on the other end of the line was obvious to her. "_I'll be sure to pass the message along if I speak to him, but you know that'll be like never. How's it going?"_ Rosalie Cullen replied.

"Meh. Charlie and I moved back to Starling City a couple weeks ago. I'll tell you this. It's a hell of a lot different than I remember as a kid. Certainly nothing like Forks or Seattle. And only one decent nightclub that unfortunately I have an investment in so I have to be somewhat responsible," she sighed dramatically.

"_I keep telling you, it's okay to let go every now and then. So what if you own part of a nightclub?"_

Bella was silent for a minute as Oliver came to mind and eyed her apple. It may had been her mistake by giving her friend too long of a silent response. "The media is all over this one Rosalie. My investment is helping out a popular name here who is also a friend of my cousin so you know how that goes."

"_And? I don't see any problem. Is he cute?"_

"He's my cousin's friend Rose. And her ex-boyfriend," Bella replied before realizing her words and cringed. "Rose…don't..."

"_Rose, don't… what? Bella, you have to start opening yourself up to new possibilities. It's no good for a woman to be alone for a long time, I mean… needs and all that. I mean… yeah. Needs. And if he's hot… why not go for it? Don't be afraid to get hurt, they should be afraid of you, remember?"_

She let out a frustrated sigh as she walked over to the window, frowning in disappointment and nervousness at the weather looming in the sky. "It's not only that. His - reputation - isn't that much better than Edward's growing up. Sure he doesn't seem anything like what I've heard or read about in the papers over the years, nor quite experienced in personal dealings with him so far. And despite my cousin's blatant support of him now considering the way he fucked her over when he disappeared seven years ago, I don't know if I can. He's…" she hesitated as she thought about the night before and his story he shared with her. "He's troubled, and while I understand and can very much relate, there is something about him that I am having trouble trusting. I don't know what it is and I just can't get past it right now."

"_Then get to know him better, come on, you've had interrogation techniques in school. If he's really something special, why not try? I can clearly hear that you care about him even though you don't fully trust him yet."_

Bella shook her head even though she knew her friend couldn't see her. The weather was growing worse and she really didn't want to call Oliver while her father was away and bother him again. She didn't want Laurel to deal with her issues either. "Is there any chance you might be able to come here for awhile?" she asked timidly.

"_Uhm… sure, I think I can get a few days extra off work next week? I don't know because I just had to make that family trip last month remember?"_

"Yeah, I know. Anything you can do. Thanks Rose. I appreciate it. A lot," she said as her voice shook when lightning flashed some distance from the house. "I um, I been having some problems here and I really hate to bother you."

"_What kind of problems, Bells?"_

She was slow to reply again because this time, her eyes had caught a figure moving in the distance on her property in the shadows. If a small flash of lightning hadn't just struck when it did, she doubted she would have seen him, but she knew it was there now making her move quickly through the house to go find her gun and begin checking to make sure the doors were locked. "Just some of my paranoia getting the better of me," she said quickly, not wanting to really start on her issues with storms with another coming. "Look. I should probably call and check on Charlie since he's out fishing all week. I want to make sure he's okay because the weather has been like shit here."

It was quiet for a moment and then Rosalie sighed. "_If it's really that bad, I suppose I could call in sick tomorrow and come over… or you know, you could call that mysterious friend of your cousin to get your minds off of things."_

"I don't know. I think I may just call Laurel. I'll get back to you Rose. I do look forward to your visit though. I think you'll like Verdant. The atmosphere is nice but I'm working on getting the staff retrained on proper handling of the female clients. I'll call you later," Bella said in a rush as she found her handgun and checked the chamber before heading back into the kitchen area and turning the lights off as she peered out the window again, nervous and shaking as lightning continued to flash but the thunder still had yet to strike.

Oliver knew he was too close to the house but he couldn't find Peter. So far, nobody has gotten hurt and maybe he was just playing with Bella's head, honing in on her fears, but that didn't mean that the dude had to be on the property. Bullying wasn't very nice. He noticed that the light in the kitchen turned off and saw some movement behind the curtain. He was well aware of how paralyzing her fear was from the night before and he was sure that she would be growing more nervous with each passing flash.

He shot an arrow into the door so she'd know that at least the _Arrow _was out there for her and hoped that she had accepted that he was one of the good guys before he ran further. The lightning seemed to follow him now and he really did not want to know if these bolts could kill. He didn't stop running for the sake of not getting hit and then remembered that there was an opening to the woods around the house. Making a sharp turn, he leapt over some old wood and remodeling debris and disappeared into the forest. He tapped his ear piece. "Felicity, I can't find him."

"_Neither can I."_

"How is that possible?"

"_I don't know, Oliver! You should have taken Diggle and Roy with you."_

Oliver didn't say anything and ran towards his car. He wasn't giving up, but he didn't want Bella to be alone either as no one should have to suffer alone with that level of petrified terror. He fired one of his flare arrows into the direction he hadn't been in and before it landed, it got struck down by lightning. Torn between going to Bella or going after Peter, he went into his car and quickly changed before driving his car to the rest of the way to the house.

He got out of the car and grabbed his duffel bag, his bow and arrows safely tucked underneath his clean change of other clothes that were underneath some groceries and a bottle or two of wine. He knew it wouldn't fool Bella for long, but he could at least try. He made sure his car was locked and nearly sprinted to the front door, ringing the bell.

~o.O.o~

Right after Bella hung up the phone with Rosalie, she continued to watch out the window with her gun in hand. When she nudged the curtain to the kitchen window aside to try to get a better view of the woods along the back of the house, something shot out from the treeline and stuck into the door.

Glancing back in the direction she saw the object come from, she was unable to see anyone, or anything whenever the storm flashed, lighting the grounds. Making her way over to the door, she hesitantly unlocked the deadbolt as her hand shook and pulled it open to find an arrow pinned into the wood. She knew she really couldn't dwell on how the man knew that she was having problems as she reached up to pull the arrow from the door and held it tightly as she slammed the door back closed, locking it again.

Holding the arrow in her hand, she studied it for a moment as she considered her single encounter with him, but was interrupted when the doorbell rang. Her thoughts were lost in a continuous fog between the Arrow and then the storm that Oliver's sudden appearance for the second night in a row had her staring at him in silence when she opened the door.

"Roy said you needed a cook," he said with a wide grin on his face before taking notice of her gun and his _present_. "What is it with you and weapons… no wait, what is it with you and greeting me with a weapon in your hand?"

Bella looked down, holding up the items. "There was someone on the grounds, but I'm not so sure I can say he was really a threat," she answered, but it sounded more like a question as she showed him the arrow. "Mysterious visitor for exhibit A. Freak storm in psychotic city, exhibit B," she said with her hand gun in the other hand.

"Just… don't point them at me, will you." He touched the arrow with his finger and pushed it away. "May I come inside, at least?"

Her eyes tightened slightly at his actions, the movement nagging at her subconscious. "Sure. Um, Chuck did know that I was joking, right? You really didn't have to come…" she said, trying to sound confident but her eyes continued to meet the windows with each lightning flash.

Oliver stepped inside and closed the door behind him. "I did not know that but with the storm going on… I just couldn't leave you all by yourself." He reached into his bag and pulled out a bottle of wine. "In case we finished the other bottle last night."

Bella reached up to scratch the back of her head as Rosalie's words bounced around in her thoughts. "No, we didn't. I really don't think getting me drunk is going to help dealing with the storm though. Believe me - I've tried that already. Actually Charlie suggested that a couple times believe it or not."

"Then I'm here to be a distraction and get you out of your head," he said gently as he took her arm and went into the kitchen. She was still holding the arrow and the gun, assuming as some sort of safety blanket. He just hoped she didn't plan on shooting him. "So what did Roy actually buy? Food that can be cooked?"

"I've only really picked at the fruit he got since he left. I got lost in some paperwork from the office for awhile. He said something about meat. You can look. He put everything away before he fixed the fuse box," she said, waving her hand towards the refrigerator as she set the gun down on counter but continued to fiddle with the arrow in her fingers idly.

He set his bag on the floor and walked to the fridge. "Well, I could definitely cook with this - not that I'm a great cook but you asked." He took some chicken out of the fridge and the bell peppers and onions. He looked around for pots and pans - found them quickly and filled one with water before setting it on the stove to start the cooking process. He had seen some pasta earlier that morning and he figured he could make something with that.

He used the chopping board he used that morning and got a sharp knife out before he started to cut the onion and peppers with almost a chef-like ability. It wasn't his fault that he had gotten used to handling knives on the island. "The extra security cameras arrived at Verdant today. When I left, I saw that Roy was rigging them up."

"That's good. I was considering going in there tonight for awhile," she commented, not saying that she was afraid of being unable to sleep again. She wasn't sure how long his visit was for tonight, but she wasn't about to beg him to stay just for a cuddle despite Rosalie's voice in her head trying to push her to go for more. Bella eyed his bag curiously before looking back at him, wondering if he had other intentions that she might had missed.

He saw her looking at his bag and grinned. "Yes, I'm staying the night, then at least one of us gets a good night's sleep," he turned around to put some oil in the sauce pan and let it sizzle away while he looked for spices so he could spice the chicken that he had just cut into smaller pieces. "If you agree to that, of course."

"I don't know. I'm pretty sure I kept you awake and couldn't do that to you again," she replied as she moved to lean against the counter next to him. "You need to sleep too."

"I'm good," he smiled at her. "I haven't been able to sleep for longer than a handful of hours for a long time anyway." He tossed the chicken into the sauce pan and put the pasta in the now boiling water before adding some salt.

Frowning, Bella watched him for a few minutes as he cooked as she evaluated the situation, but the storm was growing and the lightning expanded to included the thunder, forcing her to close her eyes with a shudder as it began with low rumbles. Her hands tightened around the arrow she continued to hold before she left him to create a buffer zone by sitting on the other side of the cooking island. "I have no problem with you staying. If Charlie finds out, he might though, but he's the one that left without checking the forecast so he can't bitch at me when he comes back. Have you checked the news? I didn't even bother to turn the television on today to see how long this weather is supposed to last."

Oliver thought for a moment. "A day or two," he replied eventually, spooning the chicken around before adding the vegetables. "It hasn't been this bad for a very long time. They say it has something to do with the atmospheric changes due to the particle accelerator's explosion in Central City almost a year ago."

"That thing that your mother was involved with? Right?" Bella asked, unsure if she remembered what she read right.

"No," he grimaced and inhaled sharply. "My mother was part of a group that created some sort of earthquake machine to level the city and start anew. The Arrow had some part in stopping that. If it wasn't for him and many others, it would have been worse."

"Ah. Sorry. There has been so much news I've read before coming back that it's really crazy all the things that has happened," she apologized.

"Yeah, it's almost as if you're living right inside a comic book, isn't it?" Oliver smiled as he opened the wine to let it breathe, but also to splash a bit of it into the chicken and vegetable mix as a base for the sauce.

Rolling her eyes, Bella nodded. "That's an understatement to say the least," she muttered as she turned her head away to eye the storm skeptically.

"It would help you if you didn't look out of the window so often. I mean, you'll still see the flashes of light and hear the rumbling when not looking at it. As I said yesterday, it can't hurt you when you're inside."

She scowled at him, seriously debating whether it was worth to sacrifice the loaf of bread on the counter to throw it at him. "Maybe. Just sucks because I was looking forward to going out tonight too," she admitted as she eyed him. "My friend actually insisted that I should and I figured, why not? I'm sure that if she comes to town, she'll want to be at the club almost every night so I'll need to make sure that it's worthy of her."

"What? We're not going to paint the club pink or add fluffy pillows and satin sashes," he mused as he added some cream to make the sauce a bit more creamy. "And you can go out if you want, the only thing that's stopping you is your fear." He then pointed at the arrow. "Maybe you'll have a run in with _him_ again."

"No, no changing the club or anything. Just making sure it's safe. Um...she had an incident back in high school and since we've been friends, we've kind of protected one another so I'd do everything I can to make sure that nothing happens to her," Bella explained before narrowing her eyes and held the arrow up and pointed it at him with a smirk. "_Maybe_ I just will. Why? Jealous?"

"Nah," he laughed as he drained the pasta and tossed it in the sauce pan to mix with the other ingredients. "He's not a real person."

Bella snorted as she stared at his back. "Certainly seemed real enough to me. Wonder what his story is…" she mused, resting her chin in her hand as she continued to watch him, and appreciating the view.

He opened the cupboard to get two wine glasses out and poured the wine before setting it on the counter, catching her watching him. "What are you looking at?" He smirked as he turned around to get a few plates out to start putting food on them.

"Trying to figure you out too," she answered honestly. "Rich playboy. Dead playboy. Back from the dead rich boy with haunted eyes. I get Laurel forgave you for what you did with Sara, but I just don't understand. For me to forgive something like that as she did, you must have had one hell of a story."

"It's easy, really," Oliver said as he set the plate down in front of her and got the cutlery. "No, it's not easy, it really wasn't easy to earn her forgiveness… I think it had something to do with her seeing that I was, still am, truly sorry about what happened and my actions after I got off that island. I was a douche. I still use that front because people don't like it when people change…" he then thought for a moment. "No, I use it to keep people at a distance, I suppose…"

She met his eyes and didn't know how to respond because she was much the same way. Nodding her understanding, Bella waited for him to join her before speaking again. "You haven't seemed as cold as you did in the office the other night," she murmured.

"And I explained that to you; I am very protective over my assets, especially after what happened last year. That's why I was an ass. And that's why I apologized. I'm still sorry," he said as he took a bite of his food. It wasn't that bad, it could have been worse. Then a smile appeared on his face. "Want to play a game?" He took another bite.

"A game?" she questioned as she ate, eying him warily, wondering where he was going with this idea.

"Yep. I mean, what better way to get to know each other by playing twenty questions? You can ask me ten questions I have to answer truthfully and I can do the same to you."

Bella raised an eyebrow as she sat back and looked at him. His idea of a game could go wrong in so many ways, because she would expect the truth and in turn she would be expected to offer the same but she couldn't. She didn't know if anyone else existed like her and if they did, what were thought of them if the knowledge was public. "I don't know…"

"What's ever being said in this house, stays in this house." Oliver said with a nod, realizing this could go bad easily, but he needed to know if she suspected anything - she probably did. But unlike Diggle and Felicity, for some reason, he did trust her enough to know the truth. "Seeing as we both have things we don't want anyone else to know. Anything goes."

Biting her lip as she toyed with her fork while she debated the pros and cons of the suggestion, she quickly thought of all the things she might want to ask to see if it would be worth the risk of what he'd want to know about her. The worst being about the mystery gunshot wound her dress suffered two nights before. She could always press on his experience from the island, but something told her that wasn't enough as her eyes flickered back over at him frequently. He knew about her fear of storms and came voluntarily to stay with her when another developed, but that didn't explain the sudden visit from the Arrow just before his arrival which had her narrowing her eyes on him. "Okay," she said slowly. "But you start."

Oliver smiled at her. "I'll start with something easy then," he said with a nod and thought for a second. "If you could change one thing about your childhood, what would it be?"

She let out a breath she hadn't thought she was holding as she considered her answer. It wasn't a difficult one because she really thought about it often growing up. "I probably would have fought much harder against Charlie making me move away from Starling City when we were younger."

"Really?" Oliver smiled at her. "I honestly don't remember much of your time here or how it impacted us as friends. I do remember my mother telling me a few years later that I'd grown insufferable."

"I remember being ridiculously depressed after moving. I had a hard time making friends in Forks and had only maybe two?" she said, trying to think about it, but whenever she thought about that town, all she could associate with it was Edward and her disgust.

"Did Charlie ever tell you why you moved? I mean, I could see the upside of moving away from Starling City, but Forks? Really?"

Bella shook her head, exasperated. "No. I asked several times since and why we never came back to visit as Uncle Quentin and everyone always came to us but he never said why. My mother died not long before so I had always thought it was because he didn't want to deal with the memories. Who knows? I mean, I know you don't remember me, and of course it was a long time ago. You've also been through _a lot_. I do remember some things though. Well more like feelings? I don't know. I'm not making any sense."

"I know you're not making sense but makes sense to me, I suppose?" Oliver replied with a slow nod. He had met old friends before but he had been standoffish towards them and no matter how hard he tried with Bella, it just didn't seem to work. And it was an odd sensation, but also a good thing? He didn't quite know why. "It's like… I don't know… I can't even properly explain it without sounding creepy."

"You'd make creepy look good though," she smiled at him sweetly as she leaned her head on her hand. "My turn. Hmm...What is _your_ biggest fear Oliver Queen?"

That was a good question and he was stumped. "Look at you being all cute," he seemed delighted as he smiled at her. She did look adorable, looking at him like that, her smile being made by lips he'd like to kiss…Blinking at the sudden thought, he couldn't believe he considered it. _What was she turning me into?_ "Were you born that way or did you perfect that look over time?"

"I am what God made me," she replied simply, that just held more weight in the words than they really should.

"Hmm… I suppose," he took a sip of his wine, realizing that she wasn't going to allow him any more to dodge the question. At all. "Even though I don't really care about what happens to me personally, I am afraid that something might happen to me. Because I would have to leave people behind who care about me, again, and have their hearts broken, again." He spoke slowly as if he was thinking about his words. "I also fear that something might happen to the people I care about if something were to happen to me."

"Reasonable fear. You do what you can to protect them by being hard on your businesses," she observed, her lips twitching at the corner.

"Yeah, amongst other things," he said, slowly nodding. "My turn." He took a sip of his wine as he thought of the next question. "What personality trait do you like the most about yourself?"

"Hmm, many hate it, but I love it. So it could be both a blessing and a curse. Dad always said I was too observant for my own good you know. He was never able to find a good place to hide my presents for my birthday or holiday. I'd _always_ find it," she joked.

"Oh, but in your field of expertise, that's a great quality to have."

"I agree. That's one of things that makes my job fun," she shrugged as she thought about her question for him. "What's your most active hobby?"

"Oh, that one's easy," he grinned. "I like to keep in shape so I run a lot and do pull ups and whatnot. Occasionally I let Diggle beat the crap out of me because I always beat him when we're sparring."

Bella kept her face neutral down to the micro-expressions she knew that a businessman like him might be able to pick up. She couldn't help the comparisons that started in her thoughts as she worked to select her questions more carefully. "I can see that," she noted, her eyes dropping down to his chest and arms pointedly.

Grinning, he put his head on his hand, just like her and looked at her. "Are you holding on to something that you probably should let go of?"

"Number three," she said as she sat back holding up the arrow. She held it from the point to the end carefully without being cut before looking at him with a sparkle in her eyes. "You know that the oldest arrowheads date back 64,000 years to a cave in South America. The use of an arrow with a bow started about - 10,000 years ago in northern Europe."

He thought for a moment and blinked. "Huh?"

"The history of this style of weapon," she explained. She fingered the sharpened edge of the head, admiring the style with obvious respect and a touch of fascination inside of her. "It's a very old one, and quite effective despite being rather - archaic. Not many cultures still use it. I read once about a small tribe from China that was traveling group. This was their weapon of choice."

Oliver shrugged, hiding the fact that he was impressed by her knowledge of weapons. Frankly, he preferred the bow over a noisy gun when he was running around. "I was sort of taught how to use one on the island to hunt but I wasn't very good at it. I was good at spear fishing though," he grinned.

"Spear fishing is just the arrow without the bow," Bella pointed out as she held the shaft end out to him. "Take it."

"Why?"

"That's four. Because I said."

"No, you still haven't answered the question because you conveniently held on to that arrow."

"Take the arrow and I'll answer both," she replied with a smile as she leaned on the counter, still holding it out to him.

Sighing, Oliver gently took the arrow from her and placed it on the counter. She knew, he just knew it. "Done. Now answer."

"I wasn't holding onto it for any specific reason that I'm aware of. Truth is I don't know why. I just felt like I needed to. It felt - instinctual. I don't understand why this - _Arrow _person selected this as his choice of weapon," she said as she reached across to finger the feathered end. "But I am curious to his reasoning because of the story I just explained to you and that is the _why_."

"I don't understand, Bella, if you have questions that he needs to answer, I am sure he's in town, somewhere."

She sat back and looked at him like he just said something stupid like suddenly proposing to her. "Are you seriously suggesting something as stupid as _intentionally_ putting myself out there in a situation that would need this guy's assistance? Sure! Let's let Bella get shot or stabbed tonight just so she can get a meeting with the _Arrow_! You're an idiot! I thought you were going to be coming with me anyway," she added, feeling offended, believing that he forgotten about the dress situation from the night before.

"Alright," Oliver said with a nod, realizing she was playing him at the same time he tried to play her. Which was good, in a way, as she had diverted her attention to him and didn't pay attention to the weather outside. "Tell me, Miss Swan. What do you really want to know about me?"

Bella had started to clean up from their dinner and slowly looked up at him as she let out a breath. Closing her eyes, she shook her head because she knew she liked him. A lot. "Oliver...I don't know...You've confused me so much since over the last _month_, before we actually moved back and Laurel asked me to help with your club. These last two days with you has been - more different than I thought you'd be. So - I guess what I'd want to know about you is... what your intentions are with me?"

* * *

><p><strong>Author Note: *evil grin*<strong>


	9. 09: Join Us

**Disclaimer: We own nothing from Arrow or Twilight. Actually, we really don't want to own anything of Twilight to be honest, but wouldn't mind having Oliver tied up in one of our beds...alas, but a fantasy, so all we can do is pretend, with words. The plot is ours alone.**

**~o.O.o~**

He had not expected that question and he had to think for a while. He had thought that she'd ask him a completely different question, one he _was_ willing to answer weird enough. Oliver wasn't sure how to answer this question. "Well… uhm," he smiled nervously. "My intentions… are making sure you won't get hurt in anyway… uhm…" He scratched himself behind his head as he looked at her. "I like you… a lot… I'm just afraid that I'll end up hurting you… and you don't deserve that."

Bella stared at him as her heart pounded in her chest at his admission. Raising her head, she kept her eyes on his as she slowly made her way around the counter as she took one step after another right up to him before taking a breath. "I don't think that's it really. I believe you're afraid that it's that _I_ may get too close to you. That you'll be the one getting hurt - again," she said, her hand coming up carefully to rest over his heart as she knew of all the loss he had suffered from his family.

"Bella…" His mouth was dry and his heart was racing. She was so damned close now and to feel the warmth of her hand through her shirt muddled his mind, making it even more difficult to think straight as he had to squeeze his eyes tightly shut to shake his head clear. For two days he had invaded her personal space, keeping the sense of control he needed, but in two seconds, Bella Swan managed to turn that around on him and he couldn't help but feel trapped. It didn't help much that she kept looking up at him and licked her lips as she did, she had to know _exactly_ what she was doing and that was frustrating.

"Oliver," she repeated his name back, song-like, with a smile on those lips. Releasing a sigh, her hand begun to slip down from his body, almost disappointed. "If this isn't what you wanted, then just say so. It's like I'm getting mixed signals from you and I don't know whether to run with them or to just be pissed off now. I thought I'd try here because I _really_ hate to admit that I might like you too."

He took a deep breath and realized they were in the same boat, sort to speak. Oliver placed a hand on her back to stop her from leaving his space and his eyes revealed a sparkle as he looked back at her. "I am sorry," he apologized and silently cursed himself. Was he even ready for this or was he just hiding? "I do want this… _you_…"

He pushed Diggle's nagging voice to the back of his head as it was telling him that she'd be an extra responsibility, a liability and a possible distraction when his head was needed somewhere else, but he was good at separating personal things from his duty.

Oliver moved his face closer to hers, moving in to kiss her, but a loud crack of thunder right at the kitchen window ruined the kiss but sent her flying straight into his arms, almost making him lose his balance and fall over with her but managed to stay on his feet. "It can't hurt you while you're inside."

Bella knew with everything logical that he was right but her experience told her otherwise. Bullets and other inanimate weapons never harmed her, but the one incident in the forest taught her that she was still very much capable of dying early. "As much as I love your childhood home Ollie, I don't know if I want to stay here right now. Can we please go out? For a little while at least?"

His heart melted, she had called him _Ollie_ for the first time. "Sure, where would you like to go? I'm not really dressed to go to some place fancy right now unless we swing by my place first."

"Wherever. I don't mind," she replied as she shifted enough where her nose skimmed his neck and inhaled his scent sharply.

"Then let's go to the club and get wasted."

"Sounds like a plan then. Let me get changed then," she smiled as she started to pulled back.

"Hey, nothing to overdress me in my jeans and plain shirt, okay?" he grinned.

Nodding, Bella had to laugh a little. "Alright. I promise not to overdo it. Shame though because I had a dress that I bought awhile back that I never wore that I'd been hoping to use for the club one night soon," she pouted playfully as she took a reluctant step away from him. "Uh, just come up if you think that I might be…" she paused with difficulty as she glanced towards the nearby window with agitation and pointed. "Needing you?"

"I will," he said with a nod. "But I doubt you'll need me, you can do this." The weather had died down a bit, probably because they were openly in the kitchen and Peter could see that she wasn't that fazed anymore, but her bedroom was on the other side of the house. He might _might_ pull out his bow and shoot a few arrows out of the window but he didn't know how fast she'd be and he'd only reveal himself to Peter. No, that wasn't a good idea. "I'll put the dishes in the dishwasher."

Oliver was proud of her when she had managed to change and come downstairs without needing him, even though there was some lightning going on and waited for her at the door with his duffel bag. "Wow, Bella. I think that even if you're wearing a potato sack you'd overdress me."

She looked down at her outfit with a frown before eyeing him. Bella wanted to be quick when she selected her attire and grabbed the first more basic ensemble she saw in the closet. "Is this too much? I'm sure I can find something else if you don't mind waiting…"

"No, you look hot," he smiled at her. Her jeans fitted tightly around her body and the jacket she was wearing was revealing some skin and he just knew that it was going to be really hard not to touch her. "Are you ready?" He knew that Peter was still out there, there were still occasional cracks of lightning and thunder, but Oliver's car wasn't that far away from the front door; in fact, it was right in front of hers, out of the door. "My car is right in front of yours and…" he pointed his car key to the window and unlocked the doors. "It's open."

Bella smiled as she took his hand and pulled him along with her to the car until they needed to part as she continued onto the passenger side and slid into the silver Mercedes. "Over the top Oliver. I would have pegged you for the motorcycle type actually."

"I have a motorcycle," he beamed as he got in behind the wheel after putting his duffel bag into the trunk, sending a text to Felicity that he was coming to Verdant with Bella and needed her to get the bag out of the car and downstairs. "I just didn't fancy getting cold."

"Well _I_ might fancy a ride one day," she smirked at him despite how she continuously fidgeted with the way the sky flickered.

"I'll take you up on that," he smiled as he closed the door and buckled up. He started the car and reversed so he could turn around and drive off the driveway. The further away they got from the mansion, the weaker the storm was and eventually no detectable bad weather. "I think you're really brave for daring to leave the house with me."

Bella felt herself relaxing more and settled into the seat as she turned to look at him. "You want to know something? I actually never felt better in spite of everything. It's just crazy really."

"Well, that's a good thing, right?" He asked as he turned a corner.

"Yes, I suppose. What bothers me is that I don't understand it. It feels - almost unnatural," she hesitated as she thought about the feelings she had been experiencing since returning to Starling City. "But at the same time it's _completely_ natural and seems...I can't describe it."

"I have to admit," he said with a nod. "I have felt something similar. It's...unnerving." He had his suspicions, it could have something to do with her gift as being a shield or something, but that was as far as his theory went. And he couldn't tell her right now because _The Arrow_ knew, Oliver had to play stupid, until she'd tell him that she knew about his secret.

Bella accepted his admission with a nod and was quiet while he drove for awhile. "We obviously agree that there is an attraction to one another, right?" she asked suddenly as she kept her eyes forward through the windshield.

"Yes."

"What if we just not do anything _specific_ and see how it goes? I mean, we both seem to be afraid of the risk of putting ourselves out there so we can just let whatever happens - happen…"

"You mean not trying to fight it?" Oliver quickly looked at her before looking back at the road.

She shrugged her shoulders. "Why not? As far as the newspapers are concerned, we're already together. That's one headache we wouldn't have to worry about being leaked if we were to date. And I will admit to Laurel that she was right that you are different than what I may have assumed you to be…" she said, unable to say how much she did want to keep his company after only two days.

"You know that not only Laurel, but also Diggle, Felicity and Roy will laugh until they die, right?" Oliver stated with a smile as he nodded. "But okay, let's not try to fight and ignore it and see where it goes?"

"That is what I suggested," she said as she glanced back at him.

"Yes, I was repeating you so I can start to try to not to fight it and stuff," he nodded as he parked his car in the parking lot next to Verdant.

"And stuff," she repeated, pressing her lips closed as she smiled but from the corner of her eye, she noticed the sign of the club growing closer. "Hey look at that. We're here."

"And look at that, no storm either," he grinned as he switched off the ignition of the car and unbuckled his seatbelt. He got out of the car and walked around it to help her out as well, which was met with a credulous look from Bella, but he didn't care.

Quickly schooling her expression, she accepted his hand as she stepped out of the car. Her eyes darted around the area and let out a sigh. "My father is going to kill us after he reads the paper tomorrow," she commented under her breath as he closed the door behind her, nodding slightly in the direction of a photographer.

"Between you and me, I think we can easily take him," Oliver said with a nod as he locked the car and started to walk towards the entrance of the club with her, still holding her hand.

"You _have_ met my father, right?" Bella scoffed as they made their way inside. "Because while he may not be in charge of my company, he still has quite a bit of pull over my staff and believe me when I say that a good number of them listen to me only because they respect him more."

"Well then, I'll just have to work _harder_ to prove that I'm actually not such a bad guy," he grinned to her before eyeing Roy across the venue. Oliver could see that Roy was already texting like mad. Oliver wondered what got him so excited.

Bella shook her head as she pulled him over to the bar in time for Chuck to have put his phone away and be waiting for them. "Cerveza por favor," she grinned as she leaned on the counter.

Oliver saw the confused look on Roy's face. "She means a beer, Roy," he said with a nod as he sat down on one of the stools. "And give me one as well."

Roy grabbed two beer bottles, set them on the counter and lifted the lids off them. "Can I get you anything else?"

"How did it go with the cameras?"

"Oh, great. They're hanging and fully functional."

Bella nodded approvingly. "I'll come by during the week for a walk through and check out the feeds. Would you mind if I sent one of my techs to set up access so that I can check in if you're not available?" she asked as she looked over at Oliver.

"No, of course not," he smiled at her.

"Mr. Queen, I…" Roy started before Oliver motioned for him to shut his mouth. "I'll be over here," he said, pointing at the other end of the counter to help some more customers.

She eyed the boy's retreating form as he walked away, before turning back to her - partner. She wasn't sure what they were _now_ that they agreed to try to see where their feelings would take them. "What was that about?" she asked curiously, but with some heat indicating that she wanted an answer.

"Proper training," Oliver explained. "He knows that I don't like giving other people what they want because of my fear of losing everything," he said with a shrug. "But it'll be okay."

Bella looked at him searchingly, as if trying to see if he was being truthful with her but she wasn't sure so she could only accept the answer he gave her with a nod. "Okay. So," she started, dropping the topic as she leaned into him as her free hand slid over to his. "Care to dance?" she asked.

"Oh, I don't dance," Oliver answered, eyeing the dance floor skeptically as he took a sip of his beer. "I can do some ballroom stuff as it comes with the territory of being a Queen but I don't dance."

She didn't care as she continued to pull him out onto the floor with a smirk. Resting her arms over his shoulders with her bottle in her hand, she began to move slowly to the beat of the current track that was playing, ignoring the crowd that was dancing more energetically. "It's not so bad you know."

He couldn't believe she was making him dance. No doubt, Felicity and Diggle were laughing their assess off in the basement. He put his free hand on the small of Bella's back and took another sip of his beer before it joined his hand on her back. "I'm not drunk enough for this," he said softly in her ear.

"I didn't ask you to sleep with me," she grinned, her lips teasing against his neck as she replied. "Besides, if you want to get technical, we already have but we just haven't had sex. Much too soon I think."

"Yes, much too soon," he echoed the sentiment with a smile. "I wouldn't mind sleeping with you again, you know. You were gorgeous when you were asleep." Oliver gently brushed a piece of exposed skin on the small of her back with one of his fingers.

His touch sent a shudder through her body that forced her closer to him physically, pressing herself against him as she sucked in a breath. Her arms tightened slightly as she shifted in his arms. "Well - if there's ever a storm around, you know you're always welcome," she whispered her invitation.

"Or when you need someone to cook you a mediocre meal…" he brushed her ear with his lips.

Bella's arms circled his neck and rested across the back of his shoulders as she leaned into him with the length of her body in reaction. "Your cooking is fine but I'm sure I can find a cooking class for you if you are absolutely insistent," she grinned just as the tempo of the music changed, allowing her to move more sensually against him.

Oliver groaned, this was mean and he had himself to blame for daring to caress her exposed skin. Just as he wanted to say something, the crowd of people started to scream in fear. He quickly looked up and saw armed men walk into the club after seemingly quiet had rid themselves of the bouncers and security personnel at the door. The other security people started running towards the gunmen, weapons drawn.

He took hold of her hand and started to pull Bella towards the stairs. "Go to the office and lock yourself in, they won't be able to see you there," he said, urging her up the stairs.

Bella knew she couldn't be harmed but she would do as she was told. Grabbing him by the arm before he ran off to help, she looked up at him. "You be careful," she said with the same concern she expressed for her cousin the first night at the club. Once she was sure he understood that he was included in her group of family, she turned and was rushed upstairs by one of the security guards that was waiting for her.

Inside, Bella ran her hands through her hair after she locked the door and stood watch over the floor through the mirror. Much of the events she couldn't believe she was witnessing but her eyes continuously searched for Oliver and only grew more concerned for him when she couldn't find his face.

"Where's Diggle?" Oliver demanded as he got into the basement without getting caught. He had heard one of the gunmen bark demands at Roy, and Roy, the good boy that he was, was stalling. Both Felicity and Laurel had their faces glued to the security screens.

"He's out there," Laurel replied and looked over her shoulder. So Ollie was really going to do this? Change into his suit while Bella was upstairs?

"Oliver, you have to hurry. One of them just started towards the stairs for the office."

Grumbling, he got dressed in record time, grabbed his bow and arrows and headed out through the secret passage so he could get into Verdant from the front after carefully watching where the men were and how they were dressed; Oliver did not want civilian casualties. Dangling from the roof in front of the entrance, he managed to take one of them out with just a blow to the head.

Oliver knew that he could easily take every single gunman if needed, but the crowd made it slightly impossible for him to do it quickly. He let go of his rope and with a flip, landed on both his feet, standing in the middle of the doorway, bow drawn.

"Everybody get down!" Diggle yelled as he motioned for the partygoers to get to the floor, which, unfortunately, caused two armed men to subdue the security at the stairs and headed up. Oliver really hoped that Bella had locked the door, he doubted she could handle two of them at the same time, even though she was more than capable of taking care of herself.

When Oliver incapacitated the first gunman, the rest headed towards the stairs as well. _FUCK._ Granted, it was easier for him to take them down when they were all together, but it wasn't like there was a lot of space there to make mistakes should he make one. He grabbed his trick arrow with the hook on it and shot it into the roof of Verdant, making the stairs obsolete. Since they hadn't shot anybody yet, he was wondering if the guns were just props, but he really didn't want to find out.

He landed on the landing next to the office and looked around the corner before getting a few arrows in. He dodge rolled to the other side of the landing to hide behind a filing cabinet that still had to be put in use after one of the still standing members shot at him. _No props then,_ he thought, making a mental note. Then they started to shoot at the heavily fortified door of the office while another one made sure Oliver wasn't going anywhere. Switching on his voice modifier, he yelled, "Stop now and you might leave here alive!" He reached for one of his flares and shot it in the air, knowing that it would land somewhere in front of the office. The flare was followed by a smoke grenade courtesy of Diggle, who had snuck up the stairs behind the gunmen and Oliver made his move now that they couldn't see. He knocked a few of them over and slid into the office through the now busted door. He turned around to face the door with his bow drawn. "Are you alright, Miss Swan?"

Bella peeked up from under the desk at the Arrow as she surveyed the damage from her limited view point. "Just fine," she waved him off as she made her way out as she let out a grunt when she pushed the desk chair aside. "See. No broken bones. Should have expected that you wouldn't be far though."

Oliver kept his eyes trained on the gap of the door, ready for the first idiot to come through - if they were idiots. Nothing really said that they were professionals, just some douchebags trying to score something. He didn't have to wait long for the first one to come and shot off an arrow, but by the time that person went down, another one came in with a semi-automatic. _SHIT,_ Oliver thought as he reached for one of his knives to throw at the guy first, but missed.

Bella saw the second gunman and knew that the automatic weapon he held would be overwhelm the _Arrow_ without a problem. She made the only decision she could to save them both. As his suit was solid and she couldn't find any area that she could make contact with exposed skin easily, she reached up without hesitation and pulled his hood back as the assailant raised his weapon. She didn't look at her intended protector yet as her eyes were focused on their enemy as her hand slipped past the fabric of the hood to his face to meet his skin when they were showered by bullets that just pierced their clothes but not their skin.

He blinked at first, wanting to move away, but then realized that she could actually protect more than just herself. He took two of his arrows, lined them up perfectly and fired at the gunman, making him fall back upon impact while the gun still went off. Bella wasn't going to be happy about the renovation costs and neither would he.

"All clear!" Diggle yelled. "Are you alright, Miss Swan?" He walked into the office and saw Oliver and Bella huddled together, with his hood down and her hand on his cheek. "Oh."

Bella eyes had already moved to the _Arrow_ when it ended and said nothing. She turned to look at the newcomer and narrowed her eyes. At the man's lack of surprise, she knew that he was well aware of the dual identities. "I supposed we have some more talking to do?" she asked evenly as she pulled her hand away now that he didn't need _her_ kind of protection anymore.

"Oh, I can't wait," Diggle chuckled and then ducked away when Oliver shot him a look that could kill him.

Oliver sat down on the floor in the midst of the debris and crossed his legs over each other while looking at Bella with his arms held out and tried to grin in attempt to lighten the mood. "Surprise?"

She scowled at him as she kicked at a piece of a frame that had fallen from the gunfire. "You've known about my - ability - this whole time?" she asked as she glared at him, thinking about the things that they've talked about. "When you asked about my dress last night during the storm you already knew!"

"I did, but if I had said anything about it, you'd have asked questions that I really didn't want to answer without revealing myself and well… hmm…" he fingered a hole in his pants. "Your ability is something you don't really have to hide unless you're in trouble. I can't just go and say, 'Hey, look at me, I shoot arrows into bad guys!'"

"You're an ass! Of all the people who can keep a secret?! You should have understood then that I had a fucking doozy of one and I clearly was doing everything I could to make you think you believed you saw things differently as I've been doing with my father my entire life!" she shouted at him loud enough that Diggle heard it out on the stairs.

"That's the whole point of having a secret identity, isn't it?" Oliver said calmly and got to his feet as he walked to her and pulled her into his arms, even against her resistance until she went frigid as he held her. "I am sorry I lied to you, I really am, but you have to believe me that knowing my secret isn't all that's cracked up to be. You could get hurt even with your snazzy ability. Also, thank you for saving my ass."

Bella froze at his touch, but only because she was still tense from the argument and wasn't interested in being calmed down any time soon. She turned her head away from him but didn't resist any more as he spoke.

"Dig," Oliver called out. "Is everyone outside?"

"Yes, Oliver. If you want to go to the basement, you should go now. The police are likely to show up soon."

Oliver picked up his bow and secured it to himself as he lifted Bella into his arms, knowing that she wouldn't be as fast as he was. He walked out of the office with her and jumped down onto the bar from the landing, landing with ease on both feet without a wobble before walking her to a secure door. He punched in a code and opened the door before setting her down on the ground. "After you," he said with an amused look on his face.

"This is something else to add to the list of things to discuss later," she muttered to him as he held the door open for her. She glared at him as she walked into the area she hadn't seen before, following the stairs down as she ran her hands over her arms from the draft in the surprisingly open area. "Secret lair Batman?"

Felicity ran towards the stairs. "Ollie, are you- ohhh… oh boy."

"Back off Robin. You're on my shit list too," Bella snapped as she pointed at the girl until she returned to where she came from. She walked on casually as she looked around. "Impressive. So this is where you all have been hiding from me, hmm?"

"Yep," Oliver said with a nod. "State of the art computers, the back up security feed goes here as well, Felicity is just great with computers and well, this is where I spend my time when I'm not at Queen Consolidated." Oliver put his arrow back into its case and put his quiver down as well. He then sat down in a chair after pulling off his mask. "Everything I need to know about a person, she finds out."

She gave the girl nearby a pointed look with a raised eyebrow. "Obviously. Clearly she didn't find out enough about me to satisfy your curiosity as Oliver Queen that you had to come out as your alter ego. Did you get your rocks off enough?"

"Bella, you're not being fair," Laurel said as she made herpresence known. "He only went after you as the Arrow because you left this club unaccompanied and he was worried. Oliver Queen can't fight. The Arrow can."

"Harley! She arrives!" Bella cheered sarcastically. "I have taken care of myself since high school. And guess what? Bella Swan has taken care of herself since then too! And we're still alive."

"Yes, and Ollie didn't know that, cut him some slack." Laurel said as she crossed her arms over her chest. "And you! Why did you hide the fact that you're bulletproof, huh?"

She held out her hands to her sides as she looked at her cousin. The woman just defended Oliver for keeping a secret identity for being the local super hero, but her having an actual superhuman ability and keeping that a secret was a no-no? "I forget sometimes that you're not a bottled blonde and were actually born that way," she said, forgiving her as she turned to look back at Oliver.

"Are you done?" Oliver raised an eyebrow to her.

"Oh _far_ from it Handsome. I'm just beginning. Now I'm thinking that Batman here needs a new outfit considering that the one he's wearing just got shot up," she announced as she looked over at Felicity. "Hey Robin. I don't know if you have those stocked in bulk order or you get them custom made but at the rate this idiot seems to be going, you might want to get on that."

Oliver was amused by Bella's reaction; she was angry, but she wasn't pissed off, much. He was certain that she could do much worse. He got to his feet again and took Bella's hand, pulling her with him towards a spot away from the girls and looked at her. "You're so beautiful when you're all fired up."

Her face had been relatively neutral but it slowly turned into a scowl at his statement. As much as it thrilled her inside, the smile that came to her lips was anything but a pleasant one. Bella's hand fisted just like it did at her house and pulled back before shooting out for a solid kidney shot to his abdomen. "Not while I'm still angry. Just be happy it's not your pretty face," she grinned as she walked away from his hunched form.

"Oof," he said, doubling over, before turning around to get the boxing gloves out. "Bella, next time you want to hit me, use these. Much more fun," he said, throwing one glove at her.

She caught it easily, swinging it around her finger by the velcro. "Are you suggesting I punch like a girl?" she baited him.

"I'm suggesting that you use me to get your frustrations out. And I don't offer that to too many people," he offered as Bella rolled her eyes at him because the more he opened his mouth since the office, she wanted to punch it to shut him up.

"Keep it up or I will really knock a tooth out of that dirty mouth of yours," she sassed.

Diggle's jaw was nearly on the floor from hearing what was being said just a few steps away from him and then looked at the two girls who were giggling like little school girls. Was this really Oliver Queen talking? What was this Bella doing to his friend?

"I'll take it easy on you," Oliver said as he walked over to her while unzipping his shirt, revealing his scarred and burned chest. "Easy target. Come on."

Diggle winced. He was often told by women that Oliver had a great body. Was he really using it to distract a raging Isabella Swan?

Her attention was completely diverted then as she eyed his scars, frowning. Hesitating, Bella looked up at him concerned. "What do you really know about Lian Yu Oliver? I mean how much of the island's history?"

"Most of it," Oliver admitted. "It used to be a prison island for the Chinese government until it was found out and other groups started to use it as a base of operation, which we took down."

"Before it was actually used as a prison island, generations before really. It was home to a tribe of people that were eventually forced off the island for that use. While they were a peaceful group they were also strong and powerful. They had medicines that were capable of healing the most sick," she said as she gestured to the scar on his ribcage that would have been life threatening in most cases. "Granted, these were just histories and stories that I've read on a region that I visited once, but I can't help but wonder…"

"Those herbs were all over the island, without them I would not have survived those five years. I even brought back some of them, just in case. Like, two years ago we had some trouble with a guy called Deadshot who uses projectiles coated in Curare, which is a poison, and the herbs cured it almost immediately." Oliver explained. "It also helped against some guy's lethal drugs, to get it out of the system."

"Without those herbs, I wouldn't have been here," Diggle said as he walked down the stairs.

Bella let out a dramatic sigh. "And the family is complete with Alfred's arrival."

"If you want my personal opinion, ma'am," John Diggle said in a faux-English accent, "I think that Batman and yourself, Batgirl, should get a room."

"I don't pay you for your opinions, thanks. Ask your boss there. I'm sure he won't mind," she smiled at him as she pulled herself up to sit on Oliver's table beside his weapons as she picked up one of the arrows. "If you want to know the truth - we were having a similar conversation upstairs before all hell broke loose."

"No way," Felicity muttered, wide-eyed.

"Anyway," Oliver said as he pulled off his shirt and got into his normal shirt. "If you want, we can help you figure out why you're bulletproof and maybe, if you want, give you some training that not even your usual people can give you."

Bella hesitated as she eyed him while she considered his offer. She wasn't sure about it because she was too used to doing things on her own for so long. Just having so many people in one night learn about her freak abnormality made her uneasy and the idea of the survivalist training that he would be giving her might not be enough to sway her. "I don't know…"

Laurel walked up to Bella and smiled at her. "See, he offers you training, he didn't offer me that!"

"You're a lawyer, Laurel." Oliver rolled his eyes at her. "And you don't like it when your nails get torn."

Laurel stuck out her tongue to him. "You can handle yourself, Bella, and you can hold your own against the testosterone around here, seriously. These guys are awful."

"I wouldn't mind to have another girl here," Felicity spoke up. "I mean, you're awesome, kickass and I bet you like to have girly nights too. Like the spa and stuff. We could definitely use more girls."

Bella immediately frowned at the girl, contemplating the many ways to torture her for her suggestion. While she welcomed a day at the spa every now and then, and even dressing up for a night on the town, she still preferred to just be in her sweats with a good movie for an evening on the couch. She didn't even realize that she had started to growl at the thought of being subjugated to frilly nonsense and girly chatter.

"She's harmless, I swear," Oliver grinned at Bella. "Just very enthusiastic."

She eyes darted over at him and shrugged. "I'll think about it," she mumbled as she suppressed a yawn. "Just keep Girl-Wonder away from me when she's in Mary Poppins mode."

Oliver got back into his jeans and looked into the closet for some clothes for Bella to wear but couldn't find any, apart from one of his shirts. Grabbing one, he handed it off to her with an apologetic smile. "So, I was thinking to take you back to my place for the night. It's closer and I'll explain why _the Arrow _was at your property before I actually rang the doorbell."

Pulling his shirt on over hers, Bella eyed him but didn't comment on his request other than nod her acceptance. She glanced back at the others as they seemed to be focused on some other task almost too conveniently at the moment and huffed as she pulled Oliver toward the door, "Subtle people. We're leaving now. Go on. Talk about us. And no, we're not going to have _sex_!"

Oliver steered her towards the other door that lead to the back of Verdant where the parking lot was. "There are cops upstairs, I don't want to explain why we were in the basement."

She looked down at their messed up clothes. "Tell them we were having sex," she said simply, with a duh expression. "The press is already thinking it."

"Sex while there's a shootout upstairs? Right… that's very believeable." Oliver snorted as he opened the door for her.

"Eh," Bella shrugged. "Next time."


	10. 10: Laid Bare

**WARNING: This chapter contains mature content in the form of adult sexual situations. If you don't like reading such material, please come back for the next chapter. You won't be missing much. A recap of anything non-bedroom related will be included in the beginning of the next chapter. We promise! **

**Also, this is the first time we've written sexy times in over two years together for a story. Please be gentle! *hearts* Much love from Meeko&Buggy.**

**Disclaimer: We own nothing from Arrow or Twilight. Actually, we **_**really**_ **don't want to own **_**anything **_**of Twilight to be honest, but wouldn't mind having Oliver tied up in one of our beds...alas, but a fantasy, so all we can do is pretend, with words. The plot is ours alone.**

**~o.O.o~**

When they were safe in the car and well on their way to the apartment, Oliver felt conflicted. Was he going to tell her about Peter after all that she had been through tonight? Yes, it was something to she had to know about, because he was obviously after her.

Bella had watched him silently as he seemed to find a way to break his silence and as amusing as it was, it also grated on her nerves especially after learning of his other activities. "Whatever it is, just fucking tell me already because I'm sure it can't be any worse than what happened in there," she pointed out as she looked back at the club, dreading that they would have to deal with that mess come morning.

Oliver took a deep breath and nodded. "I want to talk to you about those storms at the house," he said as he took a turn and had to break for the traffic light. "As that's actually the only place they're occurring."

"That's impossible," she commented. "Storms can't be that isolated."

"Impossible? Not as impossible as being bulletproof."

Sucking in a breath, she was frozen in her seat as the point was received much harder than he probably intended for it to be. Her fists clenched so tightly on her lap that her knuckles turned a ghastly shade of white despite the tan that lingered in her skin from her last business trip down south. All she was able to think of was that someone else besides her father, and now Oliver, was aware of her fear of storms because of the incapacitating effect they had on her.

"The guy is a metahuman, he possess a rare gene that was activated during the explosion of the particle accelerator in Central City a while back and he's capable of causing localised storms, even accurately landing a bolt, wherever he wants it to land," Oliver started to explain. "_The Arrow_ was checking your place out earlier to see if he could find the guy and nearly found him but realized that you needed me, so I came to you. The plan is, that tomorrow, Roy's going to his house to see if he's there and find out who's paying him to torture you like this."

Shaking her head as she worked to make sense of what he said, Bella glared at him even though she knew it wasn't his fault. "All these storms that's been happening since I've moved here have been just to fuck with my head? They aren't _real_?"

"They are real. They're just man made and not naturally occurring," Oliver placed his free hand on her fists and gently squeezed them. "We're going to get him and whomever he's working for, I promise."

"Well this just fucking sucks. This asshole knows where I live and that property is huge," she pointed out. "Staying away for a few nights works out for now, especially while my dad is away, but what about when he comes home. Because I can guaranfuckingtee that even though I'm an adult, that won't fly as long as I don't have an actual place of my own."

"Bella, I just told you, we're going to get him. I promise. And until we do, you can stay at my place if you want." He squeezed her fists again before letting go of her to put the car in the right gear as the traffic light turned green. Once he had shifted up again, he placed his hand back. "And whomever hired him, is going to pay. Deeply."

Bella struggled to relax her hands but she did enough so that she could thread her fingers in with his as she let her head fall back against the car seat. She tried not to think of all the bad going on in her life in that moment and focus on the good. She had her family, and now, as it seems, a boyfriend that she was about to spend the night by when her eyes popped open. "I have nothing to sleep in at your place…"

"That's okay," he smirked. "I have shirts you can wear, or you can choose not to wear anything at all… and I can ask my doorman to get you a fresh set of brand new clothes to wear in the morning."

"I thought we agreed it was too soon," she teased.

"Just because one of us will be naked doesn't automatically mean sex," he grinned.

She let out a laugh. "I agree, trust me. But _anything_ naked in Laurel's book means sex but - I could care less about her opinion right now," she sniffed as she eyed him.

"Well, we agreed that we'd stop trying to fight ourselves and see what'll happen so, who knows?" Oliver smiled as he shrugged. _Crap._ _No no no, brussel sprouts, blood and gore…_ He turned round a corner and after a few minutes, they'd reached the building. He drove into the underground parking garage and parked the car. He once again helped her out and they were greeted by the doorman at the elevator.

"Good evening, Mr. Queen, so good to see you again," he said with a nod.

"Thank you," Oliver smiled. "Do you think you could have a set of clothes ready for Miss Swan tomorrow?"

"Of course sir," the man nodded politely and then nodded to Bella. "Good to see you, Miss Swan."

Bella nodded as she went over to the counter to write down her sizes for the man so that she didn't have to have anything ridiculously uncomfortable for when she would have to deal with hordes of vultures when it was time to leave. "Thank you," she smiled before returning to Oliver's side as they proceeded to the elevator.

In the privacy of the small area, something broke inside her almost as soon as the doors closed on them. Turning to him, she grabbed a fistful of his shirt and yanked him down to her level, her other hand snaking behind his neck as she pressed her lips to his hungrily.

Oliver was surprised as he stumbled into the kiss, putting his arms around her and pulled her closer as he answered the kiss, attempting to hit the button for his floor before he could lose any more common sense as it poured into the woman in his arms. Pressing her back against the wall, he matched her fierceness and desire, his hands slid down her back and under her rear to lift her just enough to position himself between her legs as he expressed just how far he was already in his desire. How much he wanted this. He could not help but to grind against her more, he wanted _so _much more. He wanted _her._

She released a growl when she felt him press against her, the friction feeling unbelievable and completely unsatisfied in the moment making her raise her leg against him to try to seek out more. Breaking the kiss briefly only for oxygen, she whimpered as his hands had skimmed the skin along her back under her shirt, setting her on fire.

He started to kiss her neck and moved one of his hands to the front of her body and back again. The feeling of her skin against his ignited his blood, he wanted more, but he knew there were cameras in the elevator and he didn't want them to feature on the morning news. He lifted her up and kissed her passionately as the doors opened and he walked out of the elevator with her, fumbling for his keys in his pocket with one hand as she held on to him.

Moving her lips over his jaw and leaving a hot, wet trail of kisses, Bella dragged her teeth along the skin of his neck as she panted and kissed wherever she could until she reached the collar of his shirt. Her legs wound tightly around his waist, but the sexual creature in her continued to crave more. "Oliver," she moaned into him, her voice muffled as she pressed her face into his shoulder with need.

He managed to get them inside the apartment and closed the door, locking it, before using the nearest wall to continue what was started in the elevator. "Tell me what you need," he said huskily as he started to open her jeans with one hand and started to nuzzle her neck.

A shudder ran through her body as she felt herself succumb to him. "Fuck," she hissed as her hips pushed forward insistently at his motion and turned her head to his. She pulled his face back to hers with a grin. "Exactly what you're doing," she smirked playfully, covering the hand he was using on her pants to take an edge off but it only increased her desire more as her eyes darkened significantly on him.

"You need to lose those pants if I'm going to continue what I'm doing," he breathed as he looked into her eyes, her beautiful, dark eyes. "If you allow me, of course."

She couldn't help but think that they _both_ needed to lose a lot more than just _her_ pants as she leaned back against the wall. Bella ran her hands over his chest, up to his shoulders and behind his neck to bring him to meet her lips again in a slow and sensual kiss. As she broke it off, she moved her lips over to his ear, allowing them to brush over the outside as she spoke. "Do your worst," she challenged as she let her nails drag across his scalp as they buried into his hair.

Groaning, he decided that he needed more space. Bella's touch was driving him insane, it felt so good to be touched the way she was touching him. She was setting every nerve ending of his body on fire and he still needed more. He backed the both of them away from the wall and stumbled backwards into his bedroom as he claimed her mouth with his.

Bella couldn't help but let out an uncharacteristic giggle at both of their eagerness despite their earlier agreement that the event coming was much too soon for them. Her hands slipped back down, unable to decide where exactly they wanted to be on his body, to pull at his shirt. "Off," she demanded as she pushed the newly offending material up while her fingers trailed along the edge of his pants as they crossed the threshold into his room.

When he felt the edge of the bed against his shins, he turned around and laid her down on the bed, briefly letting go of her to take off his shirt and climbed back on to join her himself. He pushed the shirt on her to get it off and then did what he had wanted to do all evening after seeing her for the first time in that original one of hers; unbutton it to reveal her glorious flesh to him. Before he undid the first button, he rode up the shirt a little and placed a kiss on her stomach, loving the taste of her as a little voice in his head scolded him. Ignoring it, he decided tonight was not a night to take it slow and that shirt had to go. Oliver took the bottom ends of her shirt in his hands and ripped the shirt open, revealing that she wasn't wearing a bra. "So many possibilities," he said huskily as he moved to take her breast into his mouth and sucked on her nipple.

She gasped out as she held his held to her, her eyes rolling back in her head. Her breathing had grown heavy and until that moment, she was barely able to stay still beneath him. Even then, she was anxious and had a strong desire to be a more _active_ participant, but she allowed him the control for the moment. Her thighs hugged at his sides, stretching out around his body. The feel of his skin against hers made her thoughts erratic and her body lit like it was on fire. "Ol-Oliver…" she moaned as she held tightly.

He hummed around her breast before releasing it and moved to the other as he started to strip her off her jeans. When her jeans were finally gone, he released her other breast as well and ran his hand up her leg as he took a moment to observe her. Her smooth skin warm to his touch and she was mindblowingly beautiful. His arousal was painfully present in his pants, begging for a release as he moved and started to plunder her mouth again. Bella was in control of that department, if she was ready, then she would say something. Right now, the strain was all that kept him in control, even though the need to finish was still rapidly growing.

She met his kiss with equal hunger and could feel him as he struggled to keep himself off of her. Grinning against his mouth, Bella pushed him back as she raised her hips so that she could roll them on the bed to gain back the control she thrived on. Hovering over him now, she pinned him to the bed at the shoulders with a smirk. "My turn," she said as she leaned down to begin leaving a hot trail to a very needing bulge that her body was now intentionally brushing over with every movement she made.

"Jeez, Bella," he groaned as he could feel her all over him, the sensation of her lips on his skin and her grinding over his bulge was almost too much. Why was she in control? Right, because he let her. Next time, he wasn't going to be so willing to relinquish control because he _liked_ being in control.

Bella looked up at him through her lashes as she reached his waistband with grin. Her hand rubbed over him just to see his reaction before she began to undo his belt and zipper, herself eager to pull everything off. Grunting as it had gotten stuck, she tugged a little more roughly than she really needed to, she was finally able to grip his clothing at his waist to pull everything down together. By the time she finished getting the last of the clothes off from his legs, she turned back to see him standing at attention and raised an eyebrow appreciatively.

Nudging his legs open for her, she kneeled on the bed as her fingers trailed back up his legs as she made her way back to her new target. Her hand moved along the inside of his thigh, right up to his cock as she ran a single finger along his length while she continued watching him.

Oliver shivered, he could just come right there and then by the way she looked at him and teased him. When she touched his cock, he bucked his hips and groaned. "Oh, you're such a tease."

"Of course I am!" she replied as she continued to run her fingers along him, gently stroking him to ease some of the strain he was feeling. "Now - I want _you_ to tell me what you want."

"I don't want you to stop doing what you're doing, that's for sure," he breathed as his head fell back onto the bed, her fingers were magical. "Or you know… I could get you ready for me and…"

"Oh I'm ready," Bella grinned, but instead of giving into what he was hinting for, she shimmied back and leaned over as she took a firmer grip on him. Licking her lips, she slowly ran her tongue up the side of his cock until she reached the head where she could begin to take him fully into her mouth with a satisfying moan.

"Oh fuck…" Oliver moaned as he buried his hands in her hair as he could feel how she was sucking and licking his cock with a finesse that made him nearly buck his hips into her face. He took a deep breath and let out another, trying to calm himself down.

She pressed her tongue flat as she pulled him slowly out of her mouth. Her eyes remained focused on him as he glistened in the moonlight from her saliva, eagerly going in for more. Each time she had taken him in fully, Bella released a low, deeply satisfied moan.

Oliver growled as he sat up when she had once again released his cock and lifted her up, planting her on the bed next to him and got to his knees. He kissed her hard and caressed her inner thigh when she had been freed from her underwear after he tossed it across the room. He slowly moved his hand closer and closer towards her center, his movement being the opposite of the kiss. Oliver broke off the kiss for air and sat on his knees, one of her legs between his and he licked his lips. "Now, there are two options… one… I will do the same you've just done… two… I'll take you _right now_." He said with a growl.

She had initially been leaning on her elbows as she watched him, grinning at the display he provided for her. Her eyes drank him in as she let herself collapse flat onto her back, her trapped leg raising enough to press against him. "What the fuck do you think I'm going to say?" she laughed, arms stretching above her head. "And to save time for the record - I'm on the shot."

"Well, that's good," Oliver said as he reached for his nightstand to fumble out a foil package and ripped it open. "Still gonna use this, though," he smiled at her as he unrolled it over his cock while he looked at her, every single inch of her body was simply perfect, she had some muscle tone, she had the right curves and he was ready to plunge himself in. "Has it been long since your last time or?" He didn't want to end up hurting her, that was the last thing he wanted to do.

"I'm fine," Bella replied as she shifted under him. "I may not hook up regularly but I get my needs met when I need to. Now I believe you had some very wicked plans for me…"

Oliver grinned as he kissed her again, as he moved his hand towards her pussy to get some of her fluids on the condom. Yes, he knew those things were lubricated, but he felt it worked better when extra moisturized. He brushed his fingers over her lips below, sending an involuntary shudder through her body, before slicking up the condom. He broke off the kiss to reposition himself and slowly pushed himself inside of her while one of his hands was on her breast playing with her nipple.

Letting out a breath as he slowly filled her, Bella felt him stretching her body in gloriously delicious ways as she adjusted to the intrusion. While she hadn't lied that she was and would be fine, it _had_ been a while since she was last with someone so she felt more than a little tight. "Holy fuck!" she cursed as she threw her head to the side when the discomfort faded to absolute agony of pleasure.

Fuck she was tight, why did she give him the go-ahead? Well, maybe because she was fine, of course she was fine, she was fucking Bella Swan and she was his. Grinning to himself, he paused when he was fully in, giving her some time to get used to him being inside of her and she felt glorious around him.

She let her legs relax the best they could around his, wrapping over them as she held onto his body until he was ready to continue. Her hands ran over his back, finding more scarring that caused a flicker of a reaction in her eyes but said nothing as she pulled him in for a kiss, pushing it deeper.

Oliver started to move inside of her, gently at first, deep, long strokes before he broke off the kiss and buried his face in her neck, inhaling her scent. She smelled addictive, like some sort of opioid he could get very used to. She was overwhelming his senses, he wanted to live in this little bubble they were creating because despite the obvious need for release, it felt as if there nothing existed outside of it. Just nothing else to think about but to fuck her brains out. He licked along the deep vein in her neck as he started to move faster. "You feel so good," he grunted. He was already there, but he didn't want to come too soon, she had to go first, then he'd follow.

"Yes," she breathed out, her fingers pressing into his shoulders but often as the pressure slowly built inside her, her nails scratched down his arm, digging deeper to break the skin. When he thrust in, grinding himself deep into her, she wanted to almost scream out but instead clenched tighter, digging her sharp fingers into his flesh more.

She surprised him when she dug her nails into him, it was a welcoming kind of pain, barely registering in his head, but it was there, and he nearly came. "Careful," he growled. "Don't want to come too soon."

Grinning, Bella used the moment of weakness to her advantage as she rolled them back over. She made herself comfortable over him, throwing her hair over her shoulder as she rested her hands on his chest for leverage and began to ride his cock the way her body was demanding a need for. "You may enjoy control as much as I do, but I _always_ get what I want," she whispered to him as she leaned forward to brush her lips across his.

"Fuck me," he breathed as he bucked his hips into her. Bella really was a force to be reckoned with and funny enough, he didn't mind. He liked it when someone dared to stand up to him or take the lead, it made things all the more fun.

"Oh I am, now I plan on making you come until you can't breathe," she warned with a grin, her teeth nipping at his jaw as she sat up to continue riding him harder. He'd already admitted to being dangerously close to the edge, so she reached down to help herself along as she ground his cock into her. "Fuck, fuck…" she muttered.

The way she was moving caused her breasts to bounce, tempting him to reach out and touch them. Oh fuck it, he thought as he reached for her breast to cup it and rub his thumb over her nipple. It seemed like she was trying to speed herself along because he was already so close, so why not help her along? "Tell me what you need," he breathed.

Bella took his hand and brought it up to her mouth to suck on his fingers as she eyed him before releasing it. "Touch me," she said simply, guiding him back down over the front of her body to where both of them were joined. "Help me."

He took her arm and pulled her towards him as he sat up a little and kissed her hard before he bucked his hips into her. He put his other hand on her back to give her some support as he fully rose to meet her. Oliver broke off the kiss for much needed air and put his head against her shoulder. "Fuck, Bella… you're so tight, feels so good…" He murmured, his brain feeling like mush and his cock ready to explode.

Despite their position, Bella rocked her hips the best she could, testing the change only to find that it was certainly enough to reach the finish line. As she felt his fingers press harder over his clit, Bella turned her face to his shoulder as she could feel herself coming. "Oliver…" she moaned, but it was so low, she wasn't even sure she said anything herself. She had intended to warn him that she was on the brink of her orgasm as her eyes fluttered shut but one thrust from him and the blinding stars that flooded her as she had her face pressed to him to muffle the screamer in her, bit down on the flesh of his shoulder near the base of his neck. Letting go only when she was able to recognize the taste of copper and iron on her lips, she pulled back in a daze, wiping her lips in confusion before falling back onto the bed breathless. "Fuck. Me."

He could feel her tighten around her and felt how her body released the tension not a second later and allowed her orgasm to take him over the edge with her. It was almost as if his own climax came from his toes and shot right through his body like a bolt of lightning - maybe a poor choice of words seeing as Bella was scared of that, but it felt like just that. When she bit down on him, he was surprised from the way she bit him, almost as if she was muffling something. For which he was glad; he wasn't sure if his neighbors would appreciate screams coming out of his apartment.

Oliver whined when she removed herself after they both had ridden out their climax and fell back onto the bed to catch his breath. "That was... wow." His brain had obvious problems stringing words together.

Bella couldn't help but laugh at his loss of vocabulary because she wasn't much better. As she was coming down from their high, she shivered from the night air as her body was still slightly damp from the sweat of their activities. "That's one way of putting it," she responded eventually, one of her hands searching absently for his to pull herself up.

He was amused when he lifted his head and saw that she was looking for something and just held out his hand to pull her up to lay down next to him. He discarded the condom into the waste bucket next to the bed and pulled the covers over them. "We should do this more often," he said with a smile on his face and a sparkle of mischief in his eyes.

She was quiet for a minute, as if she had to seriously debate what he said or intended to reject it. "I agree. We should. Although - you may not like what I'm about to say, but I need to say it anyway. As much as I believe that you _have_ changed, and I wouldn't be here right now if I thought otherwise, with your history, I don't play around. If you plan on going out and working that reputation that you earned yourself by your own actions, then tell me before you do and we can call this arrangement off. I won't have any hard feelings then and we can remain friends."

He turned on his side and propped his head on his hand as he looked at her with an amused look on his face. "I _have_ changed, Bella. I am a one woman kind of man. I haven't been in the past, but I am now. I'm all yours, if you want to have me."

She stared into his eyes in the darkness, having had enough light from the moon shining in through the window over them. Reaching over, she ran her hand over his face as she leaned in and kiss his lips slowly. When she pulled away, she nodded. "I do want you. God knows I do, and I don't know why and that frustrates the hell out of me. But if you fuck up...there is no where on this Earth you can hide from me Oliver Queen," she warned, but with a slight smile to soften her serious threat.

"I know that," he grinned and softly kissed her. "And I won't fuck up, I promise." He planted a kiss on top of her head and put his arms around her. "You do realize that we're going to get a lot of shit from your cousins and our friends, right?"

"Just don't say anything to my cousin," Bella shrugged as she settled down on the bed in his arms. "I'll deal with her. She's still on my shit list since she expected me to say something to her about my little quirk when she had her own secret with you. I know she's going to demand all sort of answers about it that I don't even know the answers to myself."

"Well, with your permission, we can draw some blood from you and have Felicity look at your DNA and figure things out… like… where did it come from?" He ran his finger up and down her arm, loving the feeling of her nestled in his arms. It was a lot different than the other night, seeing as they were now both awake - for now - and their skin was touching each other. It just felt right, somehow. He had never had that before.

The agitation that was always present whenever the thought of someone knowing of that part of her made her uneasy. Especially when it was one that she didn't quite know or trust and found mildly irritating. "And she can be trusted not to tell anyone?" she confirmed, her fingers tracing the tattoo on his chest to distract herself.

"Felicity might come across as whimsical, but she's a great girl with an even bigger heart and yes, she can be trusted." He placed a kiss on her shoulder. "I want to help you figure this thing out with you, maybe to understand it better or test its limitations for you."

"I know I can cover other people but only if I have skin to skin contact. That's why I had to pull your hood off of you. I couldn't see any other area where I can get to any fast enough from behind you before he fired," she explained quietly in the darkness, as she begun to feel the weight of everything take hold. "It was happening so fast, I didn't care if the Arrow would be pissed or not for my forcing the situation. I was just looking to protect a person who only intended to do good."

"I was thinking about rolling out of the way as I usually do but didn't, because you were there." Oliver replied casually.

"You didn't know just how much I was able to withstand as well."

"Yeah, exactly," he said with a nod and then yawned. "We'd better get some sleep, no doubt the police are going to want to talk to us tomorrow and then the press... "

She let out out groan at knowing what they still had to deal with and was not looking forward to it. "You're right. Shit. Where's my phone? I need to send Derek a message and let him know that he'll need to handle the office since I won't be in again," she complained as she sat up in the bed, looking around.

"That can wait until tomorrow morning," Oliver snickered as he pulled her back down. "Relax."

"If he's going to have take over those duties then he needs to be in the office for 0600," she pointed out. "Do you really want to get out of bed then to send a message for me?"

Oliver groaned as he sat up and helped her look for her pants and found them on the floor at the end of the bed.

"Nice view," she commented from the bed as she sat there, grinning at his nudity on display for her. "I may have to make this a regular visit if this is the kind of show I can expect to get."

He wiggled his ass while he happily fished up her pants from the floor and retrieved her phone. "What are you thinking about of doing to me then?" He said, holding on to the phone as he sat back on his butt.

She held out her hand for the device with a scowl. "That's for me to know and you to find out Mr. Queen. However, I just may be willing to let you make me your bitch one night and follow _all _your rules," she smirked as she got onto her hands and knees on the bed as she pouted for him to give up the phone.

Oliver swallowed hard at that remark, feeling his blood starting to rush through his body again and handed her the phone without saying anything.

Grinning as she took the phone from him, she patted his head. "Good puppy," she praised him as she dialed up her executive, filling him in on the details of the evening in case he received any calls and on how to divert any questions until she could handle it herself in the morning. By the time she was done, she turned the phone off and set it on the end table, and looked back to find Oliver staring at her. "Yes?"

"You're a control freak," Oliver pointed out.

"So are you. We're a match made in hell," she elaborated.

"But it burns so nice," Oliver mused as he pulled her back to lay down again and once again put the covers over them.

All she could remember after that was laughing until she fell asleep. It was possibly the most sound sleep she had in months as she remained curled up to his side most of the night.

~o.O.o~

Oliver woke up the next morning when he could hear someone at the door. He quietly slipped out of bed and pulled on his boxers before opening the door. He was glad he had locked it because he was greeted by Diggle who was holding up the clothes that the doorman had gotten for Bella and two mugs of coffee in a cup holder. "Thanks," he said as he took the clothes and gratefully took the coffee as well, blocking Diggle's view of the bedroom as he nodded towards the living room.

He followed his boss into the other room, scratching at his jaw as he glanced back at the door curiously. Waiting until the man closed the second set of doors, separating the rooms, he could barely suppress the grin that wanted to break through. "Shall I learn Miss Swan's regular coffee order as well?" he asked, having not anticipated the overnight guest when he got stopped for their usual order. He had assumed that the man took her home from the club considering the press coverage of the robbery attempt on the club.

"You'll have to ask her that yourself," Oliver said with a nod as he took a sip of his coffee, eyeing Diggle, who immediately got fidgety, which amused Oliver to no end. "So, tell me, how bad is the damage to Verdant and how bad is the media coverage?"

He shrugged a shoulder for the first question. It wasn't anything unexpected. "We'll have to close for a few days, reevaluate the security measures in place. Might be a good idea that we bring in Miss Swan's company publically for awhile as extra security just to keep people coming through the doors."

"The guys couldn't have done anything to prevent this, Diggle."

"No, but it's all about image. It shows that you're doing everything possible to prove you're providing a safe place. That's what the press is pushing. Miss Swan isn't receiving as much heat because there were a couple of reporters that seemed to have found out about her pushing the camera and training issue with the bartenders. But once the investigation report comes out, it'll be moot anyway. It's only until then that we have to deal with the collateral damage. Detective Lance said that all the intruders were really looking for was the money that they were hoping would be kept from the re-opening night. They were stupid to think that we didn't make nightly deposits to the bank after closing," he continued to explain.

Oliver groaned. Of course he was going to get blamed for this fiasco. "Yeah, fine, whatever," he muttered as he sat down on the couch.

"Your girlfriend could explain all this to you just as well. I doubt she would be as concerned. I'm sure she is expecting something like this already. What time is she due in at her office? Shall we drop her off on the way to Verdant?"

"Doesn't Lance want to talk to us even if it's just for appearances sake?"

"He does," Diggle said slowly, nodding. "I assumed that he would have contacted her. I only know what has been requested of you right now."

"Yeah, she turned her phone off after calling her second in command last night," he said with a nod to the bedroom. "This is the first time in a while that she had a good night's sleep and didn't want to be disturbed."

He raised an eyebrow as he took in the man's appearance closer. Noting the deep scratches on his shoulders and arms, there was one other mark on him that wasn't there the night before. Pointing at his friend, he smirked. "You might want to take a shower before you get dressed. You have a bit of dried blood here," he gestured towards his own collar area. "I'll go get myself another coffee while you two get yourselves situated."

"Thank you, we'll be ready in half an hour," he watched as Diggle left the apartment and then made his way into the bedroom with fresh coffee. "Good morning," he said as he kneeled on the bed and made the smell of coffee waft towards her before setting it down on the nightstand. When she didn't move, he planted a kiss on her cheek and headed into the shower and blinked at the image reflected at him.

He knew that Bella had bit him last night, but for her to actually draw blood? He might had to check for fangs next time, he didn't know she was a vampire! Grinning, he got out of his boxers and stepped under the shower. The warm water biting as it flowed over his broken skin and he welcomed the feeling. Not that he was a sucker for pain, it was just that he had gotten used to waking up with at least something hurting every single time after a fight.

He trimmed his scruff a little after he was done in the shower and walked back into the bedroom to find underwear and one of his suits to wear.

When Bella woke up, she was initially confused but the memories of the night before came to her rather quickly leaving even her blushing in the bed. She could hear the shower running but remained in the bed. Looking around, she found the coffee that was left on the end table and immediately sat up in the bed to drink it gratefully.

When Oliver came out of the bathroom, her eyes followed him as he moved about as he got ready. He hadn't appeared to notice her awake which gave her the perfect opportunity to ogle the man shamelessly. As he stood in front of his closet, she slipped out of the bed silently and snuck up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist as she pressed her lips to one of the many scars on his back.

"Good morning, Captain Tightpants," she grinned.

"Good morning," he snorted as he turned around and smiled at her. "Did you sleep well?" He softly kissed her lips.

"Splendidly. I am going to take my turn in the shower. Shame you didn't wait for me - conservation of natural resources and all," she joked as she reached into the closet and pulled out a dark suit that she enjoyed on him from previous photos. "Did my clothes get delivered?"

"Yes, Diggle brought them up with him," Oliver said as he turned around and put his suit on the bed before handing her a stack of clothes. "I believe there's everything you'd need."

"Great! Get dressed Handsome. I'll be out shortly. We have a _long_ day ahead of us," she said.


	11. 11: Own Worst Enemy

**Disclaimer: We own nothing from Arrow or Twilight. Actually, we **_**really**_ **don't want to own **_**anything **_**of Twilight to be honest, but wouldn't mind having Oliver tied up in one of our beds...alas, but a fantasy, so all we can do is pretend, with words. The plot is ours alone.**

**~o.O.o~**

**Previously in **_**Chapter 10: Laid Bare**_

**~o.O.o~**

After leaving Verdant, Oliver had taken Bella back to his apartment for the night since the storms were still occurring around the property and putting Bella on edge. The obvious tension that had been building between the two broke like a damn and they gave in to their carnal desires. Eventually, they shared a bit of a heart to heart, as much as two stubborn people could, and had decided to be exclusive with one another and to give their obvious attraction a try.

The following morning, Diggle is the first to learn of the change in the couple's relationship and is amused by it, teasing Oliver frequently. Especially after noticing some of Bella's little _souvenirs_ she left on the man. The men discuss some business about the club and media regarding the shooting, agreeing that they would wait for Bella to wake as is known to have experience in similar dealings.

**~o.O.o.~**

**And the story continues…**

**~o.O.o~**

Bella sat in the backseat of the car beside Oliver as Diggle drove them to Verdant. She wasn't a big fan of personal drivers and she continued to stare at the back of the man's head from her side of the vehicle through narrowed eyes, silently plotting some way to get something to hold over him for his intrusion that Oliver had shared with her that morning.

"I'm going to put cockroaches in his shoes," she muttered under her breath, quite decidedly, right after he had increased the volume on the radio to distract himself from her staring.

"He's only doing his job," Oliver pointed out at her. "That, and if he actually doesn't chauffeur me around, I'd never get into the office of my own free will."

"I believe it. If I end up having to put my money into Queen Consolidated as well, I'd have to send one of my men to drive your ass into the office to make sure you get you to make me some money too," she retorted as she shifted her attention onto him for a moment. Turning back to Diggle, she asked, "How many are at the club already?"

Diggle turned down the volume of the radio. "How many, what, Ma'am?"

"Reporters. I don't care about the police. The issue right now is damage control for the club - which right now might be best that I handle any talking from what you all have said already. No offense to you Ollie, but we need to put the fire out quickly. They'll see me more as the victim than you so it'll be easier to paint that picture to get them to lay off the safety angle, considering I've only been in the papers for a couple weeks," Bella explained. "I've been down this road already. I know their game and their cues on what they will be trying to push. With everything that just changed last night - you'll be a live grenade for them."

"Yeah, I know…" Oliver said with a nod. "It's fine. I know they don't like me," he grinned. "It's the usual, really. I'll make myself scarce."

She shook her head emphatically. "Oh no. You'll be there - standing behind me. Supporting the woman that they had labeled you in a relationship with after _such_ a traumatic event. When they do ask you questions, your response is to offer any support for the victims of this attack. We will do whatever we can for everyone who has been involved. In the meanwhile, Alfred - while I deal with the vultures, can you get in touch with Derek at my company and tell him to find a counselor to have on retainer so that we can offer professional services to anyone interested?"

"Sure, I was planning on calling one myself, but if you want to do this out of your company, that's fine with me, ma'am," Diggle smiled at her. "We're fortunate that the only people who died were upstairs with you last night and that the party goers weren't physically harmed."

"It's not like Verdant can really afford it right now with the repairs that have to be done. While no one was harmed, it was still stressful and the effects on the mind can be just as harsh."

"I was also thinking that maybe, for a while, we'd have one door open instead of the entire wall for entrance. That way people can feel safer and can be easier checked. In case of emergency, all doors can open so everyone can leave safely."

Bella nodded as she liked that idea. "We can look into the options available for new hardware later. Mention that to Derek as well. I know we have a few catalogs of suppliers that he can have delivered to the club. Maybe there is something in there for new doors and windows that might be useful, not just for the club but also _other_ sections?"

"I like the way your mind works, ma'am, finally someone who I can talk to about proper security measures without giving the blank slate of 'just do it'."

"Queen Consolidated has a few subsidiaries that make and sell secure things, so if you want anything, I'm sure that a call from me would get us things for free," Oliver chipped in, which was met with a raised eyebrow from Diggle. "What?"

"Let Miss Swan handle this, Oliver."

She only sat there with a smile on her face as she looked out the window, letting the two men hash out their current disagreement. She was aware of what the problem was and knew that Diggle was familiar with her field of expertise. It made her curious as to his background and debated asking him later. But not now.

"Am I missing something here? I mean, our security has always _worked_, you know how I am."

"Yes, I know how you are, that's why you told Bella to go upstairs yesterday instead of downstairs to the more secure basement. Because you think like the Oliver who was stuck on the island for five years; the higher the ground, the better advantage you have, but it wasn't safe."

"She didn't know about me being the Arrow yet, Diggle."

"Either way, you would have taken anyone of us upstairs, admit it."

Oliver set his jaw and crossed his arms over his chest stubbornly as if he was a small child.

"And then you start moping because you're being told that you're not logical," Diggle chuckled. "Relax, Oliver, we still like you but let us handle the security of keeping you, us and our patrons safe so you can focus on other things, that's why you retained me and adopted Felicity."

Bella reached over and took his hand in hers as she smiled at him, trying to soothe the tension out of it as she held it in her lap. "We'll be there soon. You'll understand soon enough. You want me to trust you, right? Sometimes, I need you to trust me. Okay?"

"I do trust you, it's just that…" Oliver sighed. "I don't know…"

Diggle fake coughed. "Control freak." The comment earned an amused smirk from Bella as she winked at Oliver, remembering their conversation on the same topic.

Letting out a sigh as the club started to come into view, she turned to him. "All I can tell you for now is that I have access to some things that not even Queen Consolidated can get their hands on. That's what your friend here meant about letting me handle things. Trust me Oliver. I'm in this _with _you now. It's not just your ass that's on the line here. I have myself I need to keep out of trouble as well so buck up Bruce and put the big boy pants on now."

"Alright, Babs," Oliver smiled at her. "Big boy pants are on. You can help me get them off later."

A devilish grin slipped onto her face as she stared forward, her hand reaching over his leg, sliding between to his groin and cupping his package. "Oh! I will," she agreed before pulling back and straightening her face for the cameras as they were ready to pounce as soon as they pulled up to the front doors of the club.

Diggle rolled his eyes. This chick had balls, either that, or she was mentally unstable. She was going to be a nightmare for everyone, especially for Oliver. Which was good because even though Oliver was great as the Arrow, as a person, he still had a lot to learn.

"You're mean," Oliver smiled to her as they stepped out of the car after Diggle opened the door for them.

She shrugged her shoulder at him indifferently, but her eyes told a different story. "Showtime," she said as she heaved a deep breath and straightened her pantsuit before taking Oliver's arm and leading him up to a waiting officer.

~o.O.o~

The officer had lead them to Detective Lance, who was waiting for them at the bar with a cup of coffee. "So, you are alive then."

Bella saw her cousin and grinned at the sight of him. Between the move, their jobs, and her personal issues at home that she only recently learned the truth of, she hadn't been able to see the rest of the family since her arrival beyond Laurel. "Uncle Gordon!" she exclaimed as she broke away from Oliver and ran up to give the man a hug.

"What…" Quentin Lance said confused as he returned the hug.

"Just roll with it," Oliver said with a nod.

"Hmm… so from the media coverage I know you two were here last night but when I arrived here, both of you were gone, can you tell me what happened?"

Bella huffed as she pulled back but stayed in a half hug with the man as she eyed Oliver. "We came to relax as I was having some issues at home that Oliver had been so kind to help me sort through. We agreed that some time away from the house might be good so we came here. We were dancing when the club started being attacked, but we managed to slip out the back in the commotion. With everything, I just couldn't handle the stress and wanted to get away from it to decompress before having to deal with the press."

Detective Lance had just looked at her with an incredulous look on his face as he listened to Bella. Even though she had a pretty story, a believable one at that, he wasn't a fool. "Witnesses stated that they saw Oliver push you up the stairs to the office. Security footage seems to agree with that statement, so try again, Bella," he smiled at her.

Statements could have been dismissed in the heat of the moment but her eyes glared over at Diggle and Chuck as they knew well aware that they should have scrubbed details such as that. "I don't know what you are talking about."

"Good girl," he smiled at her. "The gunman conveniently used a hacking device to erase all footage of them, and of the daring rescue the man in the hood came to bring. I was just curious on how the two of you are still alive because you should be dead, according to all the bulletholes in the office upstairs, not to mention that there's a circle of bullets on the floor that's currently puzzling our crime techs."

"We had a riot shield. A bullet proof riot shield. Bella had given it to me as an example of what her firm has for toys," Oliver said with a nod. "It worked brilliantly."

Her eyebrow raised slightly with a smile to her uncle. "It's actually a prototype so I wouldn't doubt that one of my men took it back to the office for security reasons. I'll have them make it ready for you if you like?" she offered sweetly as she pulled out her phone to make the call.

Lance looked at Oliver and sighed. "I'll hand in the usual paperwork. Boom, boom, flash of green, arrows, dead bad guys. I don't even want to know the rest."

"That would be quite convenient, thank you," Oliver smiled at him. "Is there anything else you require of me and Miss Swan?"

She eyed him for a moment before turning to look at her uncle, as if there was a puzzle piece there just waiting to be pieced together but she was looking at it wrong. Replaying his last words, she narrowed her eyes on the old man. "You know!" she screeched at him before turning to Oliver. "And you were just letting him play me as well! Of all the arrogant-!"

"No, I wasn't," Oliver laughed. "This is a prime example of how he cleans up the Arrow's messes and he didn't know you know so he played it safe. Now that he knows that you know… well…"

"You know?" Lance blinked at Bella. "How?"

"Yes I fucking know! I was fucking there!" she screamed. "What else do you know?!" she questioned in nearly a panic as the riot shield was a knee jerk cover that worked out rather well, and thank god she didn't have to follow through on - so far.

"Uhm, I have no idea, but I do wish to see that riot shield when it's fit for consumption, if it ever reaches that stage," he said with half a shrug.

Bella fidgeted nervously as she looked over at Oliver, not sure what to say, because she didn't know how much she should tell her own uncle if he knew about the _Arrow_. If she should share about her ability. Laurel knew, and she didn't know if she had already told her father since he seemed aware of everything else so far.

"It actually shattered after the carnage so… it didn't really work as well as they had hoped. It might be just a fluke, you never know though. Maybe in a few years…" Oliver put his hand on Bella's back to calm her.

"Hey, that's fine, can't blame an old man for hoping," Lance smiled. "Right, I think I got it all. We'll send the crime scene report - minus the obvious things and the riot shield - to your insurance so maybe you can get a bit of aid from them to clean this mess." He then turned to Bella. "And you, young lady, should come over so we can have dinner with Laurel and Sara as a family."

She forced a smile on her face as she nodded. "Of course," she replied as she glanced back at Oliver. "I'll find some time soon, I promise. There's a lot going on as you are obviously aware."

Lance glared at Oliver, narrowed his eyes just a little to make him realize that they were going to have _the talk_ - again. He then looked at Bella and smiled. "Of course, once everything has calmed down, of course." He finished his coffee and hugged his cousin. "Have a good day, Mr. Queen, Miss Swan."

Bella waved her goodbye as she stood still, watching him leave. She waited until Oliver finally made his way closer to her before she threw a punch into his arm for allowing his people to play her the way they did. "That was a shitty move," she complained. "Don't pull it again. I don't care if you didn't know about it."

"Know about what? I didn't tell him that you know, because I want you to stay safe. Anyone who knows about me and wasn't in the basement do not require to know that you know. That conversation between me and Lance was the usual conversation we have after something like this, just for appearances sake, because he knows what to report and what not to." Oliver put his arm around her and pulled her close. "Same as your secret, he doesn't need to know. Yes, more people know now because they were in the basement yesterday, but whatever is being discussed or discovered there, stays there. I want you to stay safe because God knows what could happen to and with you if the wrong person ends up hearing about you."

She nodded as she accepted his explanation, wrapping her arms around him as she leaned her head against his chest. A small smile crept to her face as she thought about her cousin that she thought more of like an uncle and Oliver's alter ego. "I could just imagine him being completely obsessed with trying to arrest you for all of the crap you would have pulled in costume," she grinned.

He kissed the top of her head as he held her close. "Well, he was trying to, in the beginning. And he knows about me, but doesn't want to know so he just… you know… it's a grey area."

The moment was interrupted when Diggle came over, looking apologetic. "Sorry guys, but I need to borrow Miss Swan. There is some paperwork that requires your signature and Mr. Queen - your presence has been requested downstairs," he informed them.

Oliver smiled at Bella, let go of her and headed towards the basement. "Tell me what you've got, Felicity."

"Uh… Peter Warren's not home," Felicity said as she quickly closed a window on her computer as Oliver walked down the stairs. "Roy checked it out, he's still there, keeping an eye on the place."

"Alright, I'll join him later. What were you doing?"

"Oh, nothing." Felicity said innocently as she absentmindedly stroke the keys on her keyboard. "Any idea if Bella is going to join us now that she knows?"

"Give her some time. Now, why did you need me here?"

"I requested your presence," Sara said with a smile on her face as she emerged from the shadows followed by Laurel.

"Don't tell me that you've brought trouble with you," Oliver groaned. "I so can not take more of it right now."

"Well, nice to see you too, Oliver," Sara walked up to him and caressed his cheek. "Laurel sent me a message that Bella's in trouble, I figured you could use some extra help, so here I am." She then snaked her arms around Oliver's neck and tiptoed to press her body against his. "It's funny how most of my family knows about you now."

"Yeah, and she doesn't know about you so I'd rather have you gone so I can tell her later when everything's settled," he replied, deliberately not touching her.

Bella cleared her throat from the landing on the stairs where she was watching the little show with Diggle. While she could see Oliver's reluctance in her cousin's presence, she still did not trust the woman for anything. No matter what the man, or Laurel, told her. She already knew that Sara, like Oliver, had survived the boat accident and learning now that she also had a mysterious life that the others were aware of - she was quickly getting in the mood to cause some harm to someone's _pretty_ face. Not her new boyfriend's this time luckily, as he had saved his own by admitting to planning on telling her more truths, just not in a timely manner.

"Hi," Sara smiled at Bella while still hanging from Oliver before looking back at him. "I was thinking about me going to the mansion in her place to draw that asshole out so you and Roy can take care of him. We're similar height and build."

"Yeah, sure, can you let go of me now?" Oliver asked as he started to pry her arms off of him.

Sara smiled at him and let go of him before pulling him close. "Tonight?" she asked suggestively.

"No." Oliver turned around and had Felicity pull up his diary for Queen Consolidated. "I think that for now, we should _all _return to our normal duties and meet back here at 1800 hours for food and planning."

"That sounds great. Mind if I tag along with someone because I already handed over duties today to one of my guys that I've been grooming for taking over one of my other branches. Figured it's time he steps up and see what kind of balls he really has," Bella spoke. "The paperwork and everything else that we discussed with Alfred has already been sorted out."

"Those batman analogies really get annoying, you know," Laurel remarked with a chuckle. "I suppose you could tag along with me, I could use some help sorting out some paperwork at the office."

Her eyebrow twitched at the thought of unnecessary paperwork. After all, she got herself out of it for the day even though she knew she would be overwhelmed with it when she returned. She also didn't want to hurt the girl's feelings at the same time so she wasn't sure how to turn her down without bringing out the bitch in her.

"Maybe," Felicity spoke up as she saw the doubt on Bella's face. "Maybe you need a day to just _deal_ with what you've learned in the last two days, what you've experienced and just decompress. What do you like to do for fun, Bella?"

Letting out a breath, she smiled at the thought. "Right now? I'd really like to break someone's neck," she replied with a ridiculous amount of enthusiasm as she turned her eyes over to Sara. "Long time no see."

"Great, that's settled then," Felicity smiled. "You stay here and spar with Sara!"

"Are you shitting me? I'll break her!" Sara whined, not really looking forward to babysitting duties or beating up her cousin.

Oliver shared a look with Diggle, they both thought the same thing; there were too many hormones in one room and too many exes. This was a dangerous place to be. Diggle had already backed away to the door, it wasn't really fair that Oliver was currently standing in the middle of a big hormonal cloud with boobs. "No, I actually think it's a great idea," Oliver said with a nod. "But let's meet for that after lunch. I do need to show my face at the company for at least a little while. You two are not going to spar without a babysitter." He had seen what Bella could do, knew what Sara was capable of, and they definitely needed a referee.

Bella pouted as she looked at him. "Not even with weapons?"

"Definitely not with weapons." Oliver shook his head. "And you, missy, take the morning to process the impressions and information gathered in the last few days, just as Felicity said. Go shopping or go to the spa."

"Party pooper. I have a delusional guy capable of controlling the weather that was hired to fuck with my head who obviously knows about my biggest fears after me. What the fuck is there to evaluate?"

"Yes, make a list of your biggest enemies, the easier it will be for us to narrow down who would do this to you," Oliver said with a nod. "But you know what? Come with me to the office, I'll give you your own little space where you can work on that."

She looked at him much like the first day she saw him. Like an idiot man that he might be. "You do know the kind of company I own. I make enemies every day that I never even meet."

"Are you refusing to take this challenge? Wow, Bella," Oliver grinned.

"It's pointless and a waste of time!"

"No, it's not."

"I couldn't find any information on Peter Warren's bank transfers. I think he was paid with bitcoins," Felicity said softly. "I could really use a list of names."

Bella glanced over at her and scowled. The woman was a double edged sword in her side. She had come up with a great suggestion that allowed her to work on some of her issues with her cousin and now she was pulling this. Some way to try to make friends with her. "You and I are going to be having a discussion one of these days about taking sides," she muttered as she dragged a chair over and pushed the girl away from the computer so that she could log onto her company's network.

"I'll work from here, Oliver," Felicity said with a nod, not wanting to leave her supercomputer alone with Bella. Not that she didn't trust Bella, it was that she didn't trust Bella in leaving things alone and not hurt it.

Oliver made his way over to Bella and gently squeezed her shoulder as he kissed the top of her head. "Just a couple of hours, then you can beat the crap out of Sara, I promise."

"Isn't it going to be the other way around?" Sara whispered to Laurel.

"Maybe, but you'll have a hard time beating her," Laurel smiled at her sister. "She has her own security firm, remember?"

"Chateau Latour, 1999," Bella replied to him with a smirk on her lips. "It's going for about $600 a bottle."

"Oh, I know what it goes for, believe me," he smiled at her. "Alright, I'll get us a crate."

"On it," Felicity said with a nod as she typed away on her tablet.

"I said that I would get me and Bella a crate, Felicity," Oliver said gently to her. "I can do things myself too, you know," he argued.

"Not on it then…"

He planted another kiss on top of Bella's head. "See you later," he said before following Diggle out.

"Hold on," Sara said after a moment of silence, as if she had been thinking about something. "I know that look on his face."

"Yep," Laurel said with a nod as she gathered her things. "Come on, Sara. You're going to help me and you can come back here after lunch."

~o.O.o~

Bella had been sitting indian style on the desk chair as she worked on a large burger and fries that was resting on her lap as she watched Felicity typing away on the computer. "That list isn't going anywhere you know. I mean, I'll be the first to admit to being a workaholic at times, but even I know when it's time to take a step back when it comes to food. Mmm, this is really fucking good..." she added as she took another huge bite.

"Yes, stay away from the sensitive areas of the computer, it was pricey to replace them all," Felicity said as she eyed the list carefully. The names that Bella had put up there weren't going anywhere.

"I'll write you a check," she shrugged in response with a mouthful. "Anything else I can help with? I feel a bit useless right now."

"Yes, do these people know about your fear of lightning?" Felicity pointed at the screen. "Because this list is useless if they don't."

Bella thought about it for a moment before shaking her head. "Doubtful. I really didn't start having issues until after high school and the problems started after we moved from Forks."

"So what's in Forks then?"

"I'm sure you already know enough of my history Robin," she snorted as she dragged a fry through some ketchup.

"I know about that business man, Aaron, but he's squeaky clean and he doesn't have a history of holding a grudge. From your time in Forks, I only know what I could access through your high school yearbook. I know that it was probably a traumatizing experience with whatever you had to deal with, but are there people in Forks that know about your fear?"

Rolling her eyes, Bella let out a sigh as she wiped her hands and set the tray aside. "My high school boyfriend dumped me in the woods behind my house and I got lost trying to find my way home. There was a storm coming on, which was warned about for awhile that week. My father even reminded me to stay close so that I wouldn't be caught in it, but it was Edward. Anyway, I went and of course got lost. I ended up getting pretty sick - bacterial pneumonia, and was in the hospital for nearly two weeks and spent about three months on continuous antibiotics just to kick it completely from my system. The insurance company didn't want to cover a lot of it and by the time Edward's dad found out and came to kiss ass, I saw red. I tried taking as much as I could from them because all that asshole cared about was his family's money and status."

"I'm so sorry to hear that, Bella, that sounds awful," Felicity said empathically as she pulled up a file. "I'm glad that I was right about Edward because I had managed to piece together his family and they're pretty shady people. Do they know about your fear?"

Growing irritated, she shook her head and shrugged. "I don't know. I doubt it. I haven't talked to them like that since. Daddy Cullen tries getting in contact to try to talk me into getting back with Edward every now and then, but I just have my receptionist take a message. The only one I talk to is Rosalie anymore but I know she doesn't have anything to do with them herself after that incident because it was too much like an incident she had and she couldn't condone their behavior so she cut herself off from them."

"This… Carlisle Cullen is a doctor, right?" Felicity said with a naughty grin on her face and started to boot up a system that would spoof her phone number and make them untraceable. This was an airtight system, she had made it herself.

"Yeah? What are you doing?" Bella asked, eyeing her curiously.

"Gathering information. Now, shush." Felicity said as she hooked up her phone to the computer and started to dial Carlisle Cullen's office.

"_Doctor Cullen's office, how can I help?"_

"This is Doctor Adrienne McClusky from Starling City memorial, can I speak to Doctor Cullen please? It involves one of his old patients." Felicity said, causing Bella's eyes to widen as she jumped from her chair and bit her lip to keep from speaking out.

"_Certainly, please hold."_

Felicity looked at Bella and mouthed 'relax' to her as she patiently waited for Carlisle Cullen to come to the phone.

'You're crazy!' Bella mouthed back to her, but was also slightly amused at the same time.

"_Cullen."_

"Good morning, Doctor Cullen, this is Doctor McClusky from Starling City Memorial. I'm sorry to bother you."

"_That's alright, doctor. My assistant said you're calling on behalf of one of my old patients?"_

"Yes sir, I need some more information on an… Isabella Swan? She's been admitted to psychiatrics with acute hysteria. She's catatonic and I'm wondering if you knew something about what might have caused it. As there's nothing in her file."

Felicity didn't like the quietness on the other end of the phone, it was almost as if he was checking to see if there truly was a Doctor McClusky on staff at the hospital. There was, it was one of Felicity's aliases. "_Miss Swan was quite the hysterical teenager, Doctor McClusky."_

"But what could have caused this state she's in now? I want to help her, Doctor."

"_Have there been any storms in Starling City lately?"_

Felicity looked at Bella and raised her eyebrow. 'Bingo' she mouthed. "Yes sir."

"_Then that could be your problem, doctor. Just get her to a room with no windows and she'll be fine in a couple of days."_

She stood there with her arms folded around her as she stared at the phone, almost as if she wished she had laser vision that she could incinerate the device after hearing what was being said. This Peter and Carlisle's knowledge was more than a coincidence because Charlie and her had never told anyone about these problems because of the damage it could cause with her status in her company.

"Thank you for your time, Doctor Cullen. It's certainly something I can work with." Felicity hung up the phone and looked at Bella. "If you want my opinion, I think, with all the information I uncovered on him, he can be the one responsible. Shall I check his account for large deposits?"

"I'd be more curious for withdrawals. Look into it. How much longer until everyone comes back?" she asked, her voice more cold and detached than it was minutes before.

"Half an hour, tops, but if you want me to call Oliver to come over now, I could do that for you."

Bella nodded decisively. "Tell him to bring me some workout clothes to keep here. I am feeling the need to do some damage right now," she said as she walked away, heading for the stairs. "I'm going to go see if what I can do upstairs. Hollar if you need me Robin."

Fifteen minutes later, Oliver walked into Verdant carrying a bag with sporting clothes in them. Felicity had filled him in on what had happened and he was furious. It made sense that Carlisle Cullen had hired Peter Warren, seeing as that man had continuously tried to get Bella back for his son, but to go this far? All Oliver needed now was a confirmation from Peter and then he'd go after Carlisle. He found Bella at the bar, drowning herself with a bottle of whiskey beside her. "Hey, are you alright?"

She let out a breath as she looked up into the mirror at their reflections before answering. "Let's see. My ex-boyfriend that I haven't spoken to since he dumped me back in high school, his father seems to have a sick obsession with me and has been trying every way imaginable drive me _crazy_. My cousin, who for lack of a better term, is a little whore that appears to have no shame _whatsoever _in front of her own sister with the same man who I happen to be sleeping with now. And you - ooh, don't let me get started on you. I really don't want to go there because you are so damn lucky that you said that you were planning on telling me about Sara eventually otherwise you and I would _really_ be having problems. Now tell me where in all of this, am I supposed to be _alright_?"

He didn't know where to begin with that, but instead held up the bag with the clothes. "I'll tell you about Sara while you're beating the shit out of me." He knew she needed to vent her frustrations - desperately. Sex was one way to get the tension out of her system, but she was annoyed and frustrated now, so he was going to see if she liked to hit him with a bo-staff - if she was even able to. He wasn't going to make it easy on her, but he was sure as hell going to give Bella a great workout while getting one on his own, because she had already proven to him that she knew a lot about weapons.

Grabbing her new friend Jack, Bella rolled her eyes at him as she complied. "Sure. You're just a glutton for punishment, aren't you? I mean, Laurel and Sara? And now you're pulling me in there? Talk about jumping into a shark tank," she muttered.

"You need to relax," Oliver said as he took her hand and pulled her towards the basement door. "You have nothing to worry about when it comes to Laurel and Sara, I promise."

"Oh I know I have nothing to be concerned with when it comes to Laurel. She's all talk. Sara - on the other hand...I saw everything she tried to pull down there so don't yank my chain. I'll behave but don't try to butter me up for her," she warned.

"Are you jealous?" Oliver snorted as he opened the door and let her in.

"I don't do jealous," she said sharply.

"Yes, just like I don't do dates."

Bella turned to look up at him with a smirk. "Exactly. We haven't been on any, so no worries there."

"I thought last night would have been the perfect date, until we got disrupted."

"Would have been - if you had asked me properly. But I seemed to recall getting away from the house was my idea."

"You asked me, so it was a date." He stuck out his tongue to her.

"Not a date Oliver," she sighed.

"Alright, once this is all over, I will ask you out on a date. Flowers, chocolate, wine, the works."

Bella smiled to herself as she stepped off the stairs to join the rest of the group. "I'm sure you will," she said.

"Ollie will what?" Laurel piped up, overhearing the end of their conversation as she looked up at the two. "Why do you two look like that?"

"No reason," the girl responded as she took a pull from her bottle, shooting an irritating glare at Sara who was minimally dressed as she was standing around, playing with some of her weapons.

He playfully pushed her towards the fenced off area after snatching the bottle out of her hand. "Go get changed." He then walked to a cupboard to get some comfortable clothes as well, he was not going to do this in his suit.

"Sir, yes sir!" Bella snapped, pouting at the loss of her alcohol but grinned as she reached out to pinch his ass as she passed behind him and scampered off to change as she laughed.

Diggle couldn't help but to let a small laugh out at the display and shook his head with some disapproval. In a low voice so that their newest addition couldn't hear, even if she didn't officially agree, he eyed Oliver. "As much as I like this girl, she's going to be a real handful," he pointed out. "While I agree that she is an extremely valuable asset in more ways than one, you need to figure out what is setting her off."

"I know exactly what is pissing her off, Diggle," Oliver replied softly. "And I do realize she's a bit volatile, but wouldn't you be with after all the crap she's been through? Give it some time."

"Did Bella just pinch your ass?" Laurel questioned, seemingly just coming out of the fog of not quite believing what she saw.

"Yes," Oliver said as he discarded his suit jacket and started to unbutton his shirt.

"And you let her?"

"Yes," he repeated and got rid of his shirt.

"Oh my god! What the hell is that on your neck?!" Laurel screeched, causing Sara and Felicity to look up from their work in curiosity and make their way over. "Were you attacked by a vampire or something?!"

"No attack and yes to the or something," Oliver deadpanned as he pulled on his t-shirt.

Diggle grinned as he leaned against one of the pillars with his arms crossed over his chest. If only the girls knew in what state he found Oliver that morning.

Laurel continued to stare at the man as she tried to make sense of everything. It wasn't just the bite mark. He also had a number of scratches that went down his shoulders and arms… "Isabella Swan! You told us you weren't going to have sex with Oliver last night!"

Her voice rang out from behind the partisan while she was in the middle of changing. "I lied!"

"Bella! Why would you not call me after!" she whined.

"Because you're being a little bitch right now and I don't care to compare notes like I know you are thinking about," Bella replied as she stepped out as she held her head. "I need some Advil. Your voice is giving me a headache."

"Bella," Laurel repeated, softer this time.

"Harley," Bella mocked back. "You're irritating me. Shut up."

"Oh my god," Felicity said. "The both of you, shut up! I can't believe I'm the only woman in this room who hasn't had sex with Oliver!"

"Who had sex with Ollie?" Sara said confused as she looked at her sister, who nodded towards the hidden Bella. "No way! Bella, you need to be careful around him, you know."

"For the love of God, get out." Oliver said with a whine as he changed his pants. "What are we, in high school?"

Laurel pouted before throwing more fuel on the fire, "And she gave him one hell of a love bite."

"Laurel!" Oliver warned her as he turned around and looked at Sara and Laurel. "You two stop it right now if you want to stick around here, you got that?" he threatened.

"Or what?"

"I'll have you go a round against Bella." With that, he took two bo-staffs and headed to the arena where Bella was waiting for him. "How drunk are you?"

She looked at him with a bored expression. "Not enough to deal with these idiots. Am I going to get you underneath me again or what?" she smiled sweetly.

"Okay, good," Oliver said, ignoring her remark as he threw one of the bo-staffs her way. "Catch."

* * *

><p><strong>Authors Note: We would like to invite you to join our Facebook group to share our love for writing. You can find the link on our profile page, or search for <em>The Crossover Twins<em> on Facebook. It does require administration approval once you request to join, so please be patient until one of us is available to welcome you. Much Love! Meeko & Buggy**


	12. 12: In the Crosshairs

**Disclaimer: We own nothing from Arrow or Twilight. Actually, we **_**really**_ **don't want to own **_**anything **_**of Twilight to be honest, but wouldn't mind having Oliver tied up in one of our beds...alas, but a fantasy, so all we can do is pretend, with words. The plot is ours alone.**

**~o.O.o~**

Bella caught the bo-staff from Oliver in her hand and held it for a minute to test its balance. Weapons like this she wasn't as familiar with as her company was more into modern technology but she had for some time considered working in some older style of training because guns after all, do run out of bullets.

Rotating it in with her wrists, she stretched out her arms as she worked to get comfortable with it. "Can't I just have a bow and some arrows?" she asked, looking back at him.

"No, not right now," Oliver smiled at her. "Widen your stance, get grounded to the floor."

"That sounds a lot like last night, except we were both in bed," she commented as she did as she was told with a smile. Her tone remained rather flirty as she blinked innocently at him. "Now what would you like me to do?"

"Have you ever worked with this before?" He asked, still ignoring her remarks. She was drunk, he was going to teach her how to focus at a later date.

Bella shrugged as she began to spin the staff rapidly in her hands. While she wasn't particularly skilled with it, she had played with something similar and was able to perform a couple of tricks from her gymnastic days as a child. "I still prefer the bow, or something _sharper…_"

"Yes, and because you say that, we're going to use this." Oliver grinned, impressed by what she was already doing. "Okay, so you have the _twirling_ down, what do you think you'd need to block an incoming blow?" He had put one end of his staff on the ground and was casually leaning against it.

"Why don't you come at me and see?" she said as she took a step back, holding herself up in a defensive position that was more instinctual, but could also be attributed to her other training over the years.

"Did you get some martial arts training?" Oliver said as he straightened up and idly started to make figure eight moves with the staff. "Because the way you're standing now, is spot on."

She rolled her eyes at him. "He really is an idiot," she muttered to herself, before answering fully. "Minimal. I told you that I've participated in some training that I've had my people take part in. I couldn't be there for all of it but I did what I could."

Oliver nodded and decided to just come at her without holding back. He knew that she was probably capable of _a lot_, she sure thought so and it was slightly annoying. It was almost as if she was _too perfect_ for him. He walked towards her and delivered the first blow which she deflected with ease, before he turned away from her and swiped her legs, causing her to fall flat on her back. He then struck again but stopped an inch before impacting on her torso.

Bella saw the attack coming while she was on her back and had her staff in her hand as she swung it along the floor until it made contact with the back of his legs, bringing him to his knees beside her. Rolling, she threw her own knee up to his stomach and threw her elbow into his ribs before pushing his back to the mat and climbing on top of him and straddling his hips. "I said I'd get you under me," she breathed out, leaning down to drop a kiss on the corner of his mouth before pushing herself up and picking up her staff, waiting for him to recover.

He pushed himself up from the floor with half a flip and kicked his staff off the floor before catching it. "Staff only, missy," he warned her.

"I actually thought that was kinda hot," Felicity murmured from the side as everyone had been watching silently. Laurel nodded in her own agreement, but Sara only stared with an unreadable expression.

He delivered another blow which Bella deflected with her staff, turned away from her and hit her again, and again, until she missed a beat and he had her on the floor again, this time not stopping for the blow to her stomach.

"Bastard," she coughed through the impact as she waited out the breath before getting back up and stretched out the muscle. Lifting her shirt to inspect the area, she nodded in confirmation to herself that there indeed would be zero bruising developing as she expected. "Getting the wind knocked out of you sucks. Again."

Oliver grinned as he took a defensive stance. "Try to hit me. Staff only."

Bella glared at him as she squared her shoulders and stepped into an attack form. "With pleasure. I'll be sure to draw you an ice bath," she smarted as she stepped forward, swinging the staff rapidly as he deflected, but her smaller frame was able to move slightly faster underneath one of those deflections to get a blow to his ribs. It was all that she needed to get a quick succession in until she had him backed to the edge of the work out area, before she relented.

He lifted his staff horizontally and pushed her backwards, then rolled out of her swing range. "Don't stop on my account," he grinned as he was squatting on the ground with the staff in front of him, looking up to her. He seemed not to be affected by the workout at all, this wasn't a workout, this was playing.

Breathing heavy from her attack, she was beginning to feel spent. "Yeah well, some of us require a break as we don't run around town playing superhero at night."

"Here, have some water," Laurel said as she handed Bella a bottle of water.

Taking it gratefully, Bella finished it in no time as she kept her eyes on Oliver, almost as if she was waiting for another attack. It was a part of one of her lectures she remembered that continued to be ingrained in her about always being aware of your opponent. As much as it was a mock-fight, she was still on edge.

"Oh, easy, you don't want your stomach to cramp up," Laurel said shocked as she looked at the empty bottle.

"Sara, you want to have a go?" Oliver said as he straightened himself up and spun the staff in his hands. He made a mental note of teaching Bella some endurance training, because that fight had been childsplay.

"Oh, hell yes," Sara said as she discarded her jacket and took another bo-staff from the rack as she started to circle around Oliver.

"Alright, this is going to be boring," Felicity said as she turned back to her computer.

Diggle chuckled as he playfully elbowed Bella in her side. "You did good," he smiled at her.

She smiled at him as she watched the two begin to fight, though reluctantly. "Yeah, perhaps. I know I can't get hurt, but I still am nowhere near as skilled as them. I can't barely even breathe there for awhile," she whispered, running a hand over her stomach.

"Don't compare yourself to others, Bella. Sara and Oliver have had their own experiences that have made them into the people they are now. Even I get out of breath eventually when Oliver barely seems to have broken a sweat," Diggle said encouragingly. "You know how I keep up with him? Cardio. Lots of cardio and running, breathing exercises. If you want, I could teach you, train with you, since you've got someone capable of running the business in your office anyway."

Bella looked at him thoughtfully as she considered it. In truth, as she had nurtured the security business for so long, she had actually been considering taking a step back for some time. That was why she had been slowly setting Derek up for more public roles since even before they left Seattle. Of course, she would still have to discuss that with her father but she was sure he would support her regardless.

"I think I'll take you up on that. I had been considering other options for awhile now. I do have a lot that would have to be arranged, but I can do a lot of my work from home. I'm sure you're familiar with the estate?" she grinned.

"Yes ma'am, I'm more than familiar with the estate," Diggle stated with a smile on his face. "It's huge, you can start an orphanage on it if you want to."

"Don't tempt me. Considering everything I've had my fingers in - that might just end up being my next project," she laughed. "Only Charlie would really try to shoot me. Then there would be another person we'd have to explain shit to that I'd really rather keep ignorant of everything."

"I like your father already," Diggle chuckled. "He sounds a lot like Detective Lance, in that aspect. He's been threatening Oliver a lot of times over the years for Oliver's interaction with his girls." He looked at Oliver and Sara's sparring, both giving it their all and not giving in. "If they're still like this in ten minutes, I'll step in as a referee, we need Oliver awake and moving tonight."

Bella sighed in agreement but for an entirely different reason. "Yes, so would I."

"Eureka," Felicity said excitedly as she looked at her screen. "Finally. Thank you gods of the superfast internet and supercomputers."

Looking over her shoulder, Bella raised and eyebrow. "What kind of sacrifice did you make Robin?"

"Oh, just my soul, but that's okay," she shrugged. "I finally got into Cullen's bank account."

The name was enough to get a huff of disgust out of her as she turned back to watching Oliver. "Tell me how much did that jackass put on my head so that I know how painful I'll make his death when I have him in my hands."

"Ah, well, that I can't truly say as there are several big withdrawals made from that account, it could be anywhere between ten thousand to a hundred thousand."

Nodding slowly, Bella didn't say anything as castration wasn't painful enough to begin torture with. "Oliver?" she called out. "Did you pick up any good methods of inflicting pain on Lian Yu?"

Sara and Oliver both lost focus when Bella called out to him, allowing Oliver to quickly recover and threw Sara on the floor and not carefully either. "Plenty," he responded as he walked off the mat, knowing that Sara wouldn't come after her. He was sweaty and breathing heavily but otherwise still walking upright.

"Good. We're going to need those skills on Edward's father," she announced as she gave him a hard look.

"Whatever you say, Babs," he smiled at her as he took a towel to dry himself off. "Did you hear from Roy yet, Felicity?"

"Nah, he'd call if something changed."

"Call him back to here. It's no use to stake out the place. We'll lure him to the mansion instead."

"Fun times," Bella muttered as a shudder ran through her, knowing she'll have to deal with another _storm_, real or not.

"You, Felicity and Laurel stay here where you're safe," Oliver said as he gently caressed her cheek. "Sara will be pretending to be you."

She looked back at her cousin skeptically, then up at at him. "Right. Like Peter will believe that if he's been watching me for this long. First, she has a drastically different gait in her walk than I do. She looks absolutely nothing like me, even if she were to put on a darker wig. Secondly, I have a routine when I come home alone that he would know and if she fucks even one part, then this whole idea is blown. He doesn't know that you're the _Arrow_. Just come back with me as Oliver, with your suit in the bag. I'm sure that's what you were doing anyway two nights ago anyway."

"Yes, and who will be with you when I'm out there?"

"Smith & Wesson, Winchester, and Sig Sauer," she replied with her usual duh look at him. "You've met Dean already. Twice."

"Nice," Diggle grinned. "You name your guns."

She merely gave him a cheeky wink. "You should see Charlie's entire collection. You'd cream your pants Alfred. When we start on that agreement, I'll show you it one day."

"What agreement?" Oliver said confused.

"Normal people stuff." Diggle said with a straight face. "You're not to know because you're not normal."

Bella patted him on the chest reassuringly. "Don't you worry your pretty little head. I don't do dates so Alfred and I won't be going anywhere together for you to be jealous."

Oliver rolled his eyes at her and pulled off his soaking shirt. "I'm going to take a shower."

Her attention perked at that. "Great! Want to conserve some water?"

"This shower isn't big enough for two people," he said, sticking out her tongue to her before lightly kissing her lips. "I'll be out in a few minutes." He gathered a clean set of casual clothes and headed towards the small bathroom.

"I would have found a way to make it work," she muttered as she walked away to start getting her things together, ignoring the looks the others were giving her. Looking around, she frowned. "Where'd that pompous asshole put my Jack?"

"No idea," Felicity said innocently.

Bella's head snapped over to the girl and narrowed her eyes. "Bullshit."

"You're not getting it back," Felicity said. "Maybe after tonight, but not before that."

She pursed her lips as she stared her down as she contemplated her options. Slowly grinning, she nodded. "That's fine. I have a new bottle of Absinthe at home!"

"And you just told Oliver to come home with you," Felicity pointed out. "With his arrows."

"And the man is hot in that costume. Maybe I can convince him to strip for me," she mused thoughtfully as she pulled her jacket on after she found it.

"Alright," Oliver said as he exited the bathroom, dressed in his comfortable clothes. "Here's what I'm going to do; I'm going home with Bella," he smiled as he put an arm around her. "Then I'll put up some surveillance cameras in the woods surrounding the house so that Felicity can monitor them from here, also some hidden motion detectors. We stay in contact at all times and at sundown, I want Diggle, Sara and Roy in the woods with me. And it's going to be hard," he said as he looked at Bella. "But I want this guy alive. He can be hurt, but I want him alive." Oliver then let go of Bella and walked to the box with mobile surveillance technology. "I want Laurel to bring this box up in an hour or two, in case he's casing the mansion, I don't want him to get spooked when I start dragging too much in at the same time. I want this in the house so that Bella has access to our cameras as well, in tandem of her own system."

"Sounds like a plan," she agreed as she looked over his equipment before eyeing him up with it. "Let's get going so that I can take a shower and change into clean clothes."

"Yeah, let me pack my stuff," Oliver said as he took the duffel bag he used the previous day and put his new Arrow suit in it with his bow and a full quiver of arrows and another one with trick arrows; the ones with the cameras and motion detectors.

Bella ran her hand over the leather of the suit as she looked at it thoughtfully. "So...If I were to join this little band of misfits - do I get my own superhero costume too?"

"If you want." Oliver said with an entertaining look on his face.

"What?" Sara said confused. "Why would you need one? You were barely able to keep up with Ollie and it's not like you're able to go out in the field with us."

Bella turned her icy glare onto her as she straightened her back. "You have no idea what you are talking about. And I would recommend that you stop calling him _Ollie_ for the sake of my sanity."

"Let it go, Sara," Laurel said as she gently pat her sister on her back. "Ollie has a new leading lady."

"But you just called him Ollie and she didn't say anything," she argued, returning her cousin's glare.

"Because I don't want him. I've moved on."

Sara scoffed. "So what? Are they really together now? I thought that was just tabloid rumor and this was all show."

Diggle sighed as he looked at Oliver and Bella making an exit with Oliver practically pulling Bella along because she probably wanted to say something and it'd escalate. No bother with saying goodbye either, which was fine, Diggle wouldn't want to be in Oliver's shoes right now either. "If you can't stop behaving like a petty high schooler, then please refrain from speaking again until you're able to handle this in a mature manner. He's moved on, deal with it. Sara, you know you two were nothing more than friends with benefits."

Laurel could only look at her sister with disappointment as she shook her head before going to help Felicity with getting the rest of the needed equipment together to bring to Bella's. Occasionally she would look at her sister and she could see the disbelief and realization that during this last trip away, a lot had changed and she would have to learn to accept it as she had to accept the changes that happened in the five years that everyone believed she was dead.

"You're still her family but she's admitted to me that what you did with Oliver back then hurt," she shared eventually, once they found themselves alone. "It may have only been a few days, but Ollie has shown to her that he wasn't the same person she believed him to be when she moved back. You, unfortunately, only confirmed her fears for you when you glued yourself to him despite him obviously not being okay with it anymore. You need to give her time. You two may not be as close as you once were, but she may as least grow to be more civil with you and not try to look for ways to want to take off your head."

Sara scowled. "He'll only end up hurting her, you know that, right?"

She only laughed in response. "Bella will only hurt him back just as much if he did. She can take care of herself. Perhaps you should look into our dear cousin's public life a little more before you say anything else. And - for the record. I actually was the one pushing the two of them together. So watch it." Walking away, she went back over by Felicity to calm down as she pulled out her cell phone to send Oliver a warning text about Sara just so that he had an idea of what to expect.

~o.O.o~

Oliver grinned at her as they arrived at her house. "How about you carry my bag inside? I have a surprise for you in the trunk of the car." He had already quickly looked around as they were driving up the driveway, but so far, it looked all clear. He was going to work fast to get all the extra security sorted and then spend an hour or two just with Bella, doing absolutely nothing - or something, it depended on her mood.

Bella looked at him curiously as she took his bag. "Sure. Just don't take too long. I'll be upstairs if you can't find me. I'll leave the back door unlocked for you," she said as she gave him a kiss before heading inside.

Beginning her routine of checking all the doors and windows on the main floor, it was difficult to leave the one open for him as she walked away from it. Carrying his bag upstairs to her room, she smiled as she pulled out a new nightie she had seen and glad she purchased but not worn for anyone before. Deciding to take only a fast shower as she wasn't sure how long Oliver would be, she hurried so that she could blow dry her hair as soon as she was out. Even though this was technically a _job_ for everyone, she felt they still needed to put on the act to make it look real. So why not go all the way?

Once dressed, she pulled her robe on in time as she made her way out of the bathroom, where she looked around her room. She took one of her candles and lit it in hopes that it might help her nerves, but also gives a bit of a romantic feeling for them. Passing by the window, she peered outside but couldn't see anything in the skies yet, but she knew that meant nothing with someone that could bring weather from nowhere.

Oliver lifted the crate of wine out of the trunk and locked his car before walking into the mansion and closed the door. He set the wine down on the kitchen counter and grabbed one bottle to open it and allow it to breathe. He then walked up the stairs to see where Bella was and found her in her bedroom. "Hello, gorgeous," he smiled at her, holding up two glasses and an opened bottle of wine. "Look what I have."

"Mmm, my wine," she smiled as she turned to look back at him. "How in the world were you able to find it so quickly?"

"I have my contacts," he grinned as he set the items down on her dresser and softly kissed her. "I'll come back shortly to have a glass with you, but I need to set up the arrows first, okay?"

"No problem. I'll be waiting here for you," she replied with a smile as she bit on her lower lip. "I might even have a little surprise for you as well when you come back."

"Oh, I can't wait," he said as he softly kissed her before he grabbed his bag and took it to a room opposite of the house with a quick exit to the woodlands surrounding the house. He quickly changed into his suit and secured his quiver with trick arrows after putting a few regular arrows in there as well; you could never anticipate a fight and he was making sure that he had at least some ammunition. "Opening the window now," he said before opening it and jumped out of it, landing on his feet but rolled himself away from the house and started running for the trees.

It took him 30 minutes to find the right spots to get the surveillance arrows in preferable places and angles and then made his way back to the house. He shot an arrow into the roof and hoisted himself up to come back through the window and closed it. "I'm back," he said as he walked into the bedroom.

Bella smiled back as she looked at him, having just finished lighting another candle. Pulling at the sash of her robe, she slowly pulled the fabric off of her, letting it fall to the floor. "Welcome back," she said as she slowly walked up to him.

Her purple nightie looked incredible on her and he swallowed hard. "Christ, Bella…" he said huskily. "You're... " he couldn't find the words, his mind was blown and that was not a good idea. "I… uhm…" He put his bow on the floor and got rid of the quiver after noting that she had closed the curtains. He was glad when his phone started to go off, because he needed to refocus. "Oliver Queen," he said after picking up the phone.

"_It's up and running, Oliver."_ Felicity's voice sounded. "_Laurel is already on her way because I think I saw some movement outside. It could be a deer but… you know…"_

"Got it," he said with a nod and picked up his gear. "Where?"

"_South,"_

"Thanks, I'll be switching to the earbud now." He hung up and then looked at Bella. "Sorry," he apologized before kissing her. "We'll finish this later. Laurel will come soon with the equipment."

Bella sighed as she nodded. "Of course," she replied easily, although she was reluctant. "Understandable. Just make sure you come back because I do intend on getting some use out of this eventually."

"Out of _that_? Oh most definitely," Oliver smirked and kissed her again before running back to the room he had disappeared from just half an hour ago and did the same routine. He was going hunting.

Grumbling, she went to change into a pair of sweats as she learned that her cousin was coming sooner than anticipated. "He'll have more than just that one to deal with in the future now," she mumbled, making her way downstairs to wait, but not before making a detour to pull out her favorite in house sidekick, Dean. "Waste of perfectly good lingerie and a bottle of wine for a night that was supposed to be played as bait. I'll choke this Peter asshole myself if I cross him first."

He tried to move through the woods as quiet as possible, but with all the branches and leaves on the floor, every step sounded as if a bomb was about to go off and with Peter being able to direct his bolts of lightning quite accurately. Oliver was doubtful that they were going to get him tonight, they needed to lure him out to some place less… dense. The trees also made it hard for him to see Peter before Peter could see him, again, the sound would alert Peter to his presence. "Talk to me, Felicity," he said softly as he hid behind a big tree.

"_I don't know!"_

Even though he didn't fancy being out all night and hunt the guy down, he was going to have to. He pushed the image of Bella in that incredibly hot nightie out of his mind to settle his body and mind and tried to focus. He could do this. He continued to zigzag through the woods, occasionally getting slapped in the face by some low hanging branches. There were simply too many places where Peter could hide. "At least tell me if Roy and Diggle are on their way."

"_We were, Oliver, but we're having some trouble getting through traffic. There's been a big accident on our way over,"_ Diggle's voice sounded in his ear.

"_You have two choices. I can send out Sara or you can use Bella,"_ Felicity said, closing her eyes and praying that he wouldn't jump on her.

"No to Sara and certainly no to Bella," Oliver replied with a grunt.

"_He wouldn't need to know it's her. Um - Laurel and I may have jumped the gun on hoping that she'd agree on joining the team…"_

"No, Felicity. Bella's no use to me if she freaks out during the storm that he'll unleash." He jumped over a small stream of water and winced when the twig he landed on made a lot of noise for such a small thing.

"_Weren't you helping her with that problem though?" _She asked innocently, confused. "_You need someone and she's able to do more than Laurel can until the guys get there."_

"Look, we can argue and argue over this but even I am having difficulties right now to move through the forest without getting detected because of all the damn twigs. End of discussion," he said as he ducked because Peter had seen him first. Growling, he shot a few arrows in the direction he hoped was right and rolled out of its path.

"_Then head back to the house to wait Oliver. You can't handle this one by yourself -"_

"I KNOW!" He said as he zigzagged back through the trees before getting knocked to the floor because Peter had managed to dislodge a big branch from a tree and it fell on top of him.

Felicity found him on the camera but she also saw something new she didn't recognize on the property from when he lived there previously. "_Oliver! Ahead about thirty yards looks to be something of a storm drain. It looks new and I'm pulling up the satellite images of the property to see where it leads, but it may give you some cover if you can make it."_

"Yeah, hold on," he said as he got back to his feet and started to run again while he tried to loosen some of the tension in his back. He was fortunate that that branch hadn't hit his head. He spotted the storm drain and slid into it. "I'm in."

"_You should be safe there for awhile. I am having trouble finding where it leads to. Whenever I try to zoom in on the satellite, the image pixelates and distorts. It's gotta be Bella's doing because I've only seen government level technology do this."_

"Call her on my phone and ask. And see if Laurel has arrived," he demanded and sat down on his hunches against the wall.

"_Laurel's inside."_

"Good," Oliver said with a nod. "Go and ask Bella about the storm drain."

Felicity nodded even though he couldn't see her. She had muted his end of the call but the more she learned from Bella, the more was both in awe and feared the woman. Getting back on the conversation with Oliver she sounded much more relieved. _"Do you have any light? There should be a tunnel large enough that you can fit through that will lead you back to the basement of the main house." _

"Yes, Felicity, I shall get the light out of one of my million pockets," Oliver remarked before getting to his feet and used the wall as his guide. "What is this, exactly?" He asked as he followed the tunnel down and around before going back into a straight line.

_"An emergency exit. Something out of the underground railroad type thing. Bella said she had other plans for the house but that she'd rather discuss those with you about. She was relieved though that you were near there, that I was even able to see enough to notice it, not that she was happy about it. She said that it is a part of her paranoia, that you'd understand. I don't get it."_

"Yeah, I do, thanks Felicity." He put himself on mute and continued to slowly and carefully walk through the tunnel until he reached a solid, locked door. He gently knocked on the door and hoped that Bella was waiting for him on the other side.

After Felicity's call, Bella and Laurel made their way down to the basement. While she worked on pulling the door open, forgetting about how reinforced it was, her cousin had taken to looking around. "Fucking shit," she muttered, fighting to get the door open quicker when she heard him knock. "Yeah, yeah. I hear you."

It took a couple minutes but Bella got it open and she was a dirty, sweaty mess. She didn't care as soon as she saw Oliver though, pulling him into a hug, holding him tight. "Okay, new rule. Everyone goes out in pairs with this fucker around," she whispered, even if only he heard.

"I'm okay," he whispered as he put his arms around her and held her close. "I'm fine. Nice tunnel you have there, Miss Sassypants."

"Saved your smart ass Captain Tightpants," she replied. "Come on. Looks like it's going to be a slumber party tonight."

"Ah, well, there's enough wine to go around," he said as he put an arm around her and started to accompany her up the stairs out of the basement. "Do you mind if I change in something more comfortable?" he said, winking at her.

"Of course," Bella replied with a relieved smile. "You know where my bedroom is."

He sprinted up the stairs and closed the window he had gotten outside through before walking to Bella's bedroom and changed his clothes. However, just as she had her gun downstairs, he was going to take his bow and arrows downstairs as well. He was bummed that he hadn't been able to catch Peter - yet, and was already thinking of new ways to draw him out. Maybe have the paper announce some public event she was going to attend so he'd try to attack there, Oliver wasn't quite sure yet. All he knew was that he smelled slightly singed right now and he could use a good glass of wine to drown away his frustration.

Bella had started getting extra linen out as she started to pile blankets and pillows up in the television room. "When Ollie brings his ass back down, you can go dig through my clothes for something to sleep in. I doubt that office suit will be very comfortable," she smiled.

"Thanks," Laurel smiled at her. "I'm sorry that you'll have to suffer through more of this, I know it mustn't be easy."

She was about to answer but the sound of the front unlocking and opening reached Bella's ears, making her jump and grab her gun. "Stay here and down," she said as she slipped her shoes off and quietly made her way through the hallway, hiding behind corners to see who dared to try to enter the house unannounced.

"Dad?" she asked at seeing Charlie setting his bags on the floor. "What are you doing home?"

"I figured I'd come home early anyway. Don't want my girl to be all alone when all the circus is going around her," Charlie said with a smile and hugged her. "Hey kiddo."

She hugged him back, happy to have him back but the timing couldn't be any worse as she caught Oliver coming down the stairs carrying his bow and arrows. Her eyes widened at him, expressing her panic and lack of knowledge of the man's plans, and how it would affect things now.

"So uhm, Bells, whose cars are in front of the driveway?"

"Hi cousin Charlie!" Laurel greeted from the family room with a big smile on her face and waved.

Oliver quickly turned and moved back up the stairs to hide his bow and arrows in his bag before making his way down again. Oh, he was afraid of Charlie Swan, for some reason. He did remember him, making a fuss in the hallway when Oliver was younger, storming out after Oliver's mother had asked him something. "Hello, Mr. Swan," Oliver greeted him as he walked down the stairs, deciding to be bold and just face the music.

Charlie pulled back from Bella as he turned to face the reason for his early return from his trip. "Oliver. What are you doing here - in your pajamas?" he questioned, mustache twitching underneath his stare.

"I don't -" Oliver looked at his clothes, aware that he was wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt and he was walking around on barefeet. He then pointed to the family room. "Slumber party, like old times."

"Two more are actually on their way - a couple of Oliver's friends from the club that I'm helping with. One of them offered to help train me as well when I mentioned that I was considering taking up some more active hobbies," Bella added, glancing over at Oliver, hoping that he might be able to get the message to Diggle.

Oliver smiled at Charlie and quickly moved to the family room to get to his phone that Laurel held out for him knowingly. _COME HERE NOW, _he sent to Roy.

_Peter?_

_NO, worse. Bella's father._

"Well, Bells, I don't know if this party is such a good idea with the weather brewing outside," he muttered to her.

"I know Dad. I've - been dealing with it. Ollie's been a great help actually," she told him. "It's been storming here almost every night since you've left and the last couple nights he's stayed with me...It hasn't been as bad."

"He what? Oliver Queen! Get your ass here! Right now!" Charlie said as he turned around to look into the family room.

Bella's hands flew to her hair in a panic as she looked over at Laurel, not knowing what to do. It was her father after all. "Dad! Seriously! He didn't do anything but talk to me during the storms! Okay he held me the first night but I don't really remember what happened… He helped me!"

"You don't remember what happened? Bella, come on, you know what that means. Oliver, get your ass here!"

"I fell asleep! During the storm I fell asleep!" she yelled at her father.

Oliver made his way over to Bella and Charlie. "Mr. Swan, nothing happened, I swear," he said as he put his arm around Bella to comfort her. "And with all due respect sir, that's no way to talk to your grown up daughter who invited her friends over to watch a movie to take her mind off the storm outside."

Bella sighed as she leaned into him, resting her head against his shoulder as she closed her eyes. "He's only trying to protect me as well Ollie," she said. "He doesn't talk like this, not regularly like you might be thinking. He read the same papers as I did before coming here."

Charlie wasn't liking what he was hearing, and what he was seeing wasn't much better but he couldn't deny that whatever the two had from when they were children that had made his mother nervous was still obviously going just as strong now that they were adults. He looked upon them with resignation, already giving up on the argument. "Is there something going on between the two of you that I should know about or do I have to wait to find out some announcement in the news?"

"Actually, the news broke it before we even considered it," Oliver said with a nod. "I know that I don't have the best track record when it comes to dating women or that my personality isn't all that great but that was in the past, Mr. Swan. I changed. Laurel can attest to that if you don't want to believe me."

Scratching his jaw, the older man eyed them for a moment. He knew Bella never forgave easily. Hell, he couldn't remember a time she actually did and if she was capable of seeing past the faults of the boy, perhaps he could too. It would only mean that she believed that he really had changed from the way everyone remembered him to be. Of course he knew he was once a good kid, but that was before he and Bella left Starling City.

"Then let's hope the two of you don't become as self reliant on one another as you did as children," he said nodding towards them. "Lord knows what a headache you two were. Moira Queen absolutely hated it and did everything she could to keep you apart."

"Excuse me?" Oliver said confused. "I don't know what you're talking about." What was he on about? He barely remembered Bella from his childhood, well he remembered were some vague impressions and not a lot of them were with her in detail in them.

Charlie sighed as he headed into the kitchen to get a beer before breaking the story of why they really left their hometown when he found something more appalling than his daughter with the local hotshot. "What's that crate of expensive wine doing here?!"

/ .


	13. 13: Please Explain

**Disclaimer: We own nothing from Arrow or Twilight. Actually, we **_**really**_ **don't want to own **_**anything **_**of Twilight to be honest, but wouldn't mind having Oliver tied up in one of our beds...alas, but a fantasy, so all we can do is pretend, with words. The plot is ours alone.**

**~o.O.o~**

"_What's that crate of expensive wine doing here?!"_

Bella laughed as she had followed her father while dragging Oliver along by the hand. Glancing back at him, she gave him a wink. "It was a present from a colleague looking to butter me up," she replied. "We were going to make some use out of it tonight."

Laurel had been hot on all their heels as she was more interested in what Charlie had been ready to say before. "Forget the wine! You said that Ollie and Bella were obsessed with each other. Why don't any of us remember this?"

Charlie shrugged and waved it off. "You all were kids. You grow up and you forget. I believed Bella would in time, and she did, but after we moved. It was like she lost a piece of herself and she wasn't the same. She wasn't interested in having fun and she lost that sparkle in her eye. I haven't seen that in so many years," he said wistfully as he looked over at her. "Moira pushed Oliver into all those schools and from the stories Quentin filled me in on over the years, it sounded like you rebelled against it quite strongly. You had been well behaved and everything that was expected of you but you became - well, you know."

"So why did we move?" Bella asked, her hand curling around Oliver's to the point that her nails nearly began digging into his palm.

"Well, for starters, Moira insulted Renee by asking her to become Oliver and Thea's nanny, seemingly because you and Oliver got along so well, but she wasn't allowed to take you with her," Charlie said as he took a swig of his beer and then looked at Oliver. "I think that by now you've realized that your mother's hands weren't as clean as she made you believe?"

Oliver scowled as he moved to open another bottle of wine and got mugs out of the cupboard before joining Bella again, pouring the wine unceremoniously into the mugs and handed her and Laurel the other ones. He took a big gulp of wine that really shouldn't be drunk the way he was defiling it, but he didn't care. "At the time of her death, we weren't on speaking terms, yes. I couldn't believe the stunts she pulled, my own mother."

Charlie leaned on the counter as he looked into the boy's eyes. "We've had our theories over the years but could never prove anything. Now it doesn't really matter anymore, but sometimes you can't help but wonder, you know? When Renee was killed, we suspected that Moira might have had something to do with it… I'm not saying she definitely did, and I don't want to point fingers. But if we're going to air out our dirty laundry here, we may as well get everything out if you're going to be around here more."

"I don't know, I'd have to look through her files… and I really don't want that because I'm afraid what else will pop up and it'll only make me angrier."

"Then don't," Bella said as she spoke up, running her hand over his thigh. "I don't remember Renee enough for her loss to affect me in any way. No need to open a can of worms that we can't close."

"Thea… she's my half-sister," Oliver said hesitantly. "That's one of the things that I argued about with Moira after I found out."

Charlie and Bella shared a glance as they tensed. "Do you know who her father is?" she asked.

"Of course I know, one of my mother's partners, my best friend's father." Oliver said as he downed his mug of wine in one go. "She's with him now, getting to know him and whatnot."

Laurel remained quiet for the most part as she listened, deciding to step in for him. "Tommy's dad, Malcolm Merlyn. It came out not long before she died, and Thea's not really speaking to any of us because she believes we all knew and kept it from her, but it was far from the truth."

Bella wasn't thrilled about that news because in her catching up on the city, she read about the man as well. "He's going to be a problem. Wasn't he supposed to be dead?"

"Oh yeah, the _Arrow_ got to him and a year later he popped up again… to save Thea." Oliver said as he refilled his mug of wine. "Guess the _Arrow _needs to learn how to aim properly."

She narrowed her eyes on him, as she pinched his side for the self deprecating talk he was making. "I'm sure there was more to the situation. The _Arrow_ must not have known something about him then or he had something to protect him. I'm sure he's already looking into it. Who knows what kind of resources he has access to."

"I'm sorry, Oliver. There were rumours when your mother was pregnant with Thea, of course, but to go up against the almighty Queen family? That was not done in that time. I doubt Robert knew," Charlie said empathically. "It's a good thing that you've started to become a positive force in this city, Oliver, even if it's behind closed doors. Your company helps a lot of people with getting jobs. You know that Bella and I will help wherever we can."

Oliver's phone beeped with a message and Bella reached over for it to pass to him. "I'm betting it's Alfred and Chuck finally getting their asses here," she smiled with a wink. "I'll go wait for them at the door. Just - relax."

"Yeah, they're asking if they should bring pizza or something," Oliver said, looking at his phone.

"Mmmmmmmm, yeah. Grilled chicken and broccoli on mine please," she said.

Oliver typed a message back to say that they needed at least seven pizzas and one with chicken and broccoli, the rest they could figure out themselves. "Done, they'll be here within twenty minutes." He turned his attention to Charlie. "So Bella and I were close when we were younger?"

"Oh yes," Charlie answered with a nod. "Sometimes it even looked like you two were glued together. Renee always said that you two would make a lovely couple when you'd be older. I think she'd be thrilled if she could see you now, at the beginning of something beautiful," he then took a swig of his beer. "She'd also tell you that you'd better treat her right, Oliver, otherwise she'd have your balls for dinner."

Laurel started to laugh when Oliver winced. "Bella already warned him about _her_ castrating him."

"Good girl," he said proudly.

"With your hedgeclippers," she added as she hid her grin behind her mug as she eyed her friend.

"Both of you behave yourselves," Bella chided them as she walked back in to refill her wine and to save Oliver from further torment. "Leave him alone before I come at the two of you with the clippers. Hey Dad? I was thinking of Derek getting started for this branch and stepping back for awhile. I was hoping that you might help with that as I want to begin cutting my hours back to half days beginning this week."

Charlie's jaw nearly dropped to the floor in surprise. "Please tell me that you have other plans than being the trophy around his arm because young lady, I did not raise you like that!"

She shook her head at his accusation. "Hell no! Please, no. I just want to do something else for awhile. While you were gone, there'd been some issues at the club and I've actually enjoyed my time there a lot more and I'd like to be a little more involved with the business there. I need a break from Swan Security. Of course I'd stay on the board and everything. I'd be available if I'm needed for any press or contract negotiations, but I can't be the one on top of everything like I've been the last seven years."

Charlie was quiet as he eyed his daughter before he looked at Oliver and back at Bella. "Good for you, it's about time you started to live a little and bring some fun back into your life."

"She certainly knows how to have a good time," Laurel snorted knowingly as she swallowed her wine and looked away, trying to act innocent and ignored the scowl she received from her cousin.

"Shut up Harley or I'll tell Robin that it was you that accidently spilled water all over her mouse this morning," she smiled sweetly at her.

"You wouldn't!" Laurel gasped in horror. She had already been on the receiving end of the wrath of Felicity and it wasn't pretty.

"Oh I would…" Bella replied, not flinching.

"Who's Harley and Robin?" Charlie asked, confused.

"Bella has taken it upon herself to call my friends names from the Batman comics," Oliver explained. "Laurel is Harley and my assistant is Robin. My driver is Alfred and the manager of Verdant is Chuck, for some reason," he grinned as he studied his wine more closely. He knew he shouldn't be drinking, but he could really use something to ease the muscles in his back now that they'd decided that tonight was not a good night to go after Peter and that branch fucking hurt.

"Alfred will be here soon, with Chuck!" Bella grinned happily.

Charlie looked at each of them like they might be losing their minds and nodded. "And just who might the two of you be in this little game?"

"Alfred calls me Batgirl," she frowned. "I don't see it though. Oliver should be obvious. He's Bruce."

"Although technically, she should be Bruce. For now, she has more money than I do," Oliver said with a nod.

"Semantics," Bella waved him off as she narrowed her eyes on him. "Hey you. I need your help upstairs with something. Come with me."

"Charlie and I will hold the fort," Laurel said as she took a sip and sat down on a barstool.

"Hollar when the boys call," Bella said as she took Oliver's hand and lead him away from the kitchen area as quickly as he was able to move. "How bad is it?" she asked, heading for the closest set of stairs.

"I don't know," he said with a shrug. "The branch could have broken some skin but the suit's still intact. I'll be a bit sore, nothing to worry about, it happens all the time."

She nodded but didn't say anything else until they were in her room and closed the door behind them, locking it. "Take it off and let me see," she said as she went over to one of her dressers and pulled out a couple jars and sniffed at them to find the one she was looking for.

"Bella, I'm fine," he stated.

"And Charlie is here. What are you going to tell him if he starts getting suspicious? He's a former cop, remember? And we train with some of the best in the country so just let me take care of you," she said as she looked up at him. "I have something that will help take away the pain for awhile. It should last long enough until he decides to go to bed then you can go back to being Mr. Tough Guy. Deal?"

Oliver sighed as he sat down and pulled his arms back through the sleeves one by one before bending forward to get the shirt off.

Finding the tub that she had made, she crawled onto the bed behind him and winced. "Ollie, you're going to need to take it easy tomorrow," she muttered as she slowly started to rub the ointment over his back, trying to massage it into the bruising that was already mottling the skin. "How big was this branch because if it hit your head - it could have killed you. It was damn close. I wouldn't be surprised if you have a cracked rib."

"I don't know, big enough to knock me to the ground." He thought he smelled something familiar as she was rubbing in the cream, but couldn't quite place the scent for now.

"Pairs from now on," she sighed as she added more to him, working up into his neck. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," he admitted. "I don't know of any creams to have this instantaneous effect, apart from the one Yao Fei had showed me to make once... On the island."

Bella shrugged as she handed him the tub. "I learned how to make this from a shaman when I was in China about three and a half years ago. He gave me a bunch of the herbs for it and showed how to grind them, and what to use them for. I have them premixed for different uses to save time."

He sniffed at the tub and remembered vividly how Yao Fei made the ointment. 'Treat the herbs like fragile buds when bruising them for cream, soak them in good water for poison.' Oliver said to himself and shook his head in amusement.

"What's so funny?" Bella asked as she rubbed excess ointment into the darker bruises on his back.

"Yao Fei told me that on the mainland, this stuff gets grown in special, holy places. Well guarded places because the herbs are considered holy. On the island, it just grows in the wild, but other than the prisoners, no one could get there."

"The shaman didn't say anything when he offered them to me. He actually pulled me off the street when I was scouting for a possible branch office," she shrugged. "It seemed kind of odd but he was harmless."

"I've met those people, they're good people and seemingly able to sense if someone's one of their own. The person I met sensed that I'd been on the island and had been treated with the holy herbs and was considered to be one of them - for some reason I still don't quite understand."

She was quiet as she looked at him. "I've never been on Lian Yu, so what's my excuse?"

"The herbs didn't originate on Lian Yu, they belonged to a tribe of people, as you said before. Maybe you are a descendant of that tribe and maybe that's why the shaman got you off the street."

Bella's eyes grew as she sat back, not sure how to react. She'd known she was adopted, it wasn't a secret in the family - they just chose not to discuss it because it didn't matter. "Well...That certainly makes everything seem like it's full circle…" she murmured as she looked at him, now realizing that they had actually been so close to one another not that long ago. "Huh. Do you think we should tell the others?"

"About the weird shaman? No," Oliver replied amused. "Felicity might find out if she runs a deep scan on your DNA, but I trust her to give me the results and not speak of it if it doesn't have anything to do with your ability."

"Oliver. What did you do? How did you get my DNA?" she asked as she stood up from the bed, pulling her hand away from him as if he was lit on fire.

"I wanted to wait for your permission but eager Felicity confiscated the bottle of Jack you'd been drinking from. You have my permission to throttle her but please keep her alive."

She nodded as she glanced at the time. "Alfred and Chuck will be here any minute. You should be capable of moving by now Lurch," Bella said as she reached for his hand and pulled him up with her.

As they walked down the stairs, Oliver stretched out his back, relieved for the time that much of the tension was gone. It only gave more credence to his belief that whatever herbs she used had to be the same ones that he was familiar with, making him want to ask her later if she had any unmade that he could compare with his own supply later.

"Go join Dad and Laurel and take it easy. Just because you aren't feeling the pain now, doesn't mean the injury isn't still there. I'll help them with the pizzas," she said as she gave him a gentle shove towards the kitchen.

"You know you're going to have to ease up on the bossy attitude of yours," he smiled at her as he backed away.

"I'll lay off when you do," she laughed as she opened the door in time to find Diggle and Roy pulling up the driveway. Her eyes quickly surveyed the sky, finding only some flickers of lightning in the distance, as if this Peter was subtly reminding them that he was still around and for the first time in a long time, she wasn't locked in frozen. While she was still greatly unnerved by it, based on the way she had her arms wrapped around herself, she was still functional, if not distracted.

It wasn't until Diggle called up to her after he closed his car door, that she was able to come out of the almost trance she was in. "Are you alright Miss Swan?" he asked.

Shaking her head clear, she smiled back at the two before going down the rest of the steps. Deciding to be quick, Bella quickly replied and went to fill them both in on the latest turn on the night. "Yeah. It's still quite unsettling, even if it's a distance out," she said as she pointed towards the area of the most activity. "So my dad came back early from his fishing trip. He already started on Oliver, but has since calmed down. I don't doubt he'll try to throw a few more cheap shots at him before he goes to bed so we have to keep an eye out. He's pretty observant, so keep that in mind, as he won't say anything outright. I've already told him some of my plans with the company which I'll fill you in shortly because I need to talk to him more about that and we may as well do that over food that way he can't be screaming at everyone if his mouth is full between the pizza and beer."

Diggle chuckled and nodded as Bella let him and Roy inside. "Where do you want the pizzas, ma'am?"

"I'll take care of it," Roy flashed a grin at Bella and Diggle before walking to the kitchen and set the pizzas down on the counter and started to look for the plates before Charlie cleared his throat. Roy sheepishly looked at the older man and then looked at Oliver who was drinking something from a mug and was staring at Roy. "Oh, hi, sir, I'm Roy Harper."

"Aren't you a little young to be friends with my daughter?"

"No sir," Roy chuckled. "I work for your daughter and Mr. Queen."

Bella followed in with Diggle, rolling her eyes. "Relax guys. Chuck, we're not on the job so you can lay off the formalities. I know you don't call him that at the gym," she said raising an eyebrow. Looking around at everyone, she took a deep breath as she reclaimed her seat beside Oliver and reached over to take his hand and smiled as she sent him a meaningful look, expressing that she had something she wanted to speak about soon.

"Well, I for one, think this was the best idea ever," Laurel said as she reached for one of the pizza boxes and opened it. "After what happened the other day, we deserve to have a little fun."

"Yeah, that's actually why I came back," Charlie said as he looked at his daughter. "Yesterday's shooting was all over the news. I thought you said the security at the club was adequate."

"It had nothing to do with security, Mr. Swan," Diggle replied. "They were overwhelmed just as much as we were. The gunmen were idiots for trying to rob us. However, your daughter and I have already discussed how we're going to continue for a while to make it safer for everyone. Especially since she and Mr. Queen are heavily talked about in the media."

Bella bit on her lip as she searched for her pizza through the mountain of boxes, trying to ignore the looks her father had been giving her. When she couldn't stand it any further, she let out a sigh. "Dad. You had to have known that they would have tried putting Oliver and I together at some point because of my involvement with his club. Hell, even I expected it, just not as soon as it happened."

"The gunmen were just that," Oliver said as he gently rubbed Bella's back. "The reason why we're all here is because we think that Bella might have a stalker and we didn't want her to be alone," Oliver could feel Bella tense up underneath his touch and kept rubbing her back. "I have already informed Detective Lance and he's looking into it. But for the time being, once Verdant is ready to be opened to the public again, additional security, from your firm, will be stationed at the club seeing as Bella is planning on spending more time there." He took a sip of his wine before reaching for a pizza slice of the box that Laurel had opened. "Mr. Diggle has been looking after me ever since I returned from the island, he's the best at what he does and I trust him completely in making sure that Bella's safe."

Charlie sat back as he looked between the two, taking a more searching look at his daughter. "You do know that we have plenty of capable bodyguards at our disposal as well? Oh hell...I can clearly see that there is something else going on that you aren't telling me Bella and I'm going to trust you but I want you to be careful."

"Mr. Swan, just to give you a heads up, for Bella's safety we've come up with a reason for her to withdraw from the public eye for a little bit and I don't want you to be alarmed tomorrow evening when we put out a press release," Diggle spoke up, knowing full well what Felicity had done earlier that day and was playing off of that. He was going to speak to Oliver later about giving _him_ a heads up before pulling a story out of his ass.

Wincing, she had an idea of what he was referring to. "You talked with Robin about that?" she asked him as she sat back, feeling sick at remembering the phone call with Carlisle.

He nodded to her but didn't comment further because her father was clearly growing more upset. "And what makes you think that what you, a mere bodyguard, have planned can be any better than what my daughter and her company can come up with?" he asked.

"Dad..." Bella warned.

"No. It's quite alright Miss Swan. I've served our country and have the same training and experience, if not more, than your staff. I'm sure that Bella will agree to the plan based on her future intentions she had already begun to contemplate," Diggle added with a small smile in her direction.

"More and more I'm regretting our decision to move back. Not that I'm unhappy about your new friends - that's still under investigation, but you were a lot safer in Seattle," Charlie grumbled as he got up to get another beer from the fridge. "I will trust you, Bella, to make the right decisions in this matter." He opened his bottle. "Just let me know if I need to be aware of something."

She nodded with a grateful smile. Knowing that the conversation the group would need to have would have to wait until Charlie went to bed, she slowly grinned as an idea formed. "Hey Ollie? You know we never finished watching that movie the other night..." she hinted.

"Robin Hood, Men in Tights, yes," Oliver grinned, causing Roy, Laurel and Diggle to snort. "We should finish watching that." He took a few pizza boxes with him to the living room and was quickly followed by Laurel who brought the wine and mugs with her.

"Really?" Diggle questioned as he looked at her.

Shrugging Bella smirked. "I had a run in with the _Arrow_ that night, remember? I had the urge to watch Robin Hood! You can't honestly tell me that you haven't popped the movie in at least once since the guy came to town," she said, glancing towards her father.

The doorbell rang suddenly, causing everyone to look at one another in surprise. "Were you expecting anybody else?" Charlie asked, standing from his seat.

"No," Bella answered as she headed into the family room where the others too, stood still, trying to decide how they would proceed.

"I'll go see who it is," Diggle announced as he pulled out his own sidearm, winking at Bella as he passed. She gave him a smirk, shaking her head, saying nothing as she moved to try get a view of the foyer without leaving the room. Lucky for everyone else, her impatience would be satisfied as Diggle returned shortly with Felicity, who had an expression on her face that reminded Bella of a chihuahua hyped up on caffeine.

"What?" Felicity said innocently. "Everyone's here instead of in the club so after work I decided to just…" She then shrugged and turned to Charlie. "Mr. Swan, good to meet you, sir. I'm Felicity, I work for Oliver." When she mentioned Oliver's name, she looked at him and briefly tapped on her bag that held her laptop. She had some exciting news from what it looked like until she saw the pizza boxes. "Oh, pizza!"

Charlie blinked at the energy that the woman brought into the house. "I'm getting too old for this," he muttered as he planted a kiss on Bella's head. "I'll be upstairs unpacking and heading to bed."

"Goodnight Daddy," she said as she stared after him until she was sure he was out of earshot before turning back to the group. "Okay - now what the fuck? What is this plan and why are you here? And since you are here - you may as well expect to park your ass on the couch for the night with the rest of us for sake of appearances. I have clothes you can borrow."

Felicity looked at Bella before sitting down. Wearing clothes that the woman wore? The girl had taste, even better taste than her own. "Cool," she grinned.

"Well," Diggle said as he sat down. "What we need is to get this Peter to some place where he can't hide as well as here, somewhere he can't do a lot of damage. Felicity already basically set up the whole idea of you being in the hospital for anxiety when she called, you know."

"Yeah, it's basically just you taking things easy for a while, like… Diggle said you have a good temporary replacement lined up for you at your work?" Felicity asked as she grabbed a slice of pizza and took a bite off it.

She nodded. "I was going to have Derek come to the house tomorrow to go over the change in his role within the company here in Starling City. Whoever is here will be able to meet him as well which will be good because I'd rather you guys deal with him should we have to use Swan Security for anything _official_ as we will need to have his name on the paperwork and not mine. And - before all that goes through, there are some things that I want to get that I need to help you whilst staying off the radar for everyone else."

"Like what?" Diggle asked, amused.

"Oh, don't you worry your pretty little head, you're going to love it," Bella playfully said as she took a slice of the pizza and turned on the TV to resume the movie.

"Oh, can I? Can I?" Felicity said as she bounced on the couch and Oliver decided to sit down on the floor. "First off, I apologize that I stepped over boundaries - again, and started to build Bella's DNA profile from the bottle of Jack Daniels she was lurking on today. And it's not done, yet, but I did find something interesting."

The woman sighed as she rolled her eyes, making herself comfortable next to laurel and throwing her legs over her cousin's. "Just hit me with it already."

"Oh, it's nothing bad, it's just interesting." Felicity said with a nod. "You have the metagene and it's been naturally activated, nothing disastrous as the particle accelerator explosion because you've had it since you were born."

"Figured as much," Oliver said with a nod.

"But it's great, isn't it? At least now she knows where it comes from!"

Bella was still confused. "What is a metagene? And what does that mean for me in the long run?" she asked worried.

"Nothing," Felicity smiled widely. "You're still the healthy twenty-seven year old that you are. According to people who work with metahumans on a daily basis, do research and what not, you're just another step in evolution."

"Yes, but combined with you being a natural and the nature of your ability, we really need to keep this all between us. Nobody else needs to know, especially not the people we sometimes work with," Oliver said as he reached for another slice of pizza.

She looked over at him with a frown. "Like who? Is there someone that you know that would want me in particular? Secrets Oliver... You know how I feel about them."

"Yeah, there's this government agency called A.R.G.U.S. They were set up to deal with major threats like the League of Assassins… uhm, the group Malcolm Merlyn belongs to… and Sara… and they're good at what they do, honestly. They know a lot of things they shouldn't know about. They'd kill for someone like you on their team," Oliver explained. "It's complicated."

Bella scrambled up to her feet, not caring that she accidently kicked Laurel in the side in the process. She blinked for a moment not knowing what to say. "Sara...okay. Just another reason for me not to want to deal with her. The other... Just how much should I be concerned. Really?"

"Not everything's black and white in our world, Bella," he said as he reached for her hand to pull her down to him. "The League of Assassins aren't that bad, occasionally we cross paths and mostly they do the same work but on a larger scale, world wide and all that. A.R.G.U.S. sees them as vigilantes and they aren't really keen on me either. Diggle's girlfriend works for them though."

"Grey area," Diggle said with a nod.

"The only thing you have to remember is that you can trust us, trust _me_. We'd never take advantage of you or use you for something against your will because you're more than just this person who's bulletproof. Especially to me," Oliver smiled up to her.

She fell to her knees and curled up next to him. "This is getting to be way too crazy too fast," she sighed.

"I know," he said as he put an arm around her. "That's why I'm _trying_ to give you small doses of it all but you keep asking questions you expect me to answer," he snorted and kissed the top of her head.

She bit her lip as she considered everything and she was thankful for his effort despite her attitude in a lot of it. "After we get through the whole switch-over this week, can we just get everything out later so that I won't be surprised again? Even if it's a little bit at a time until but I need to know more about what _your world_ really is like."

"Yes," Oliver smiled at her and caressed her back. "I promise."

They watched the movie while munching on the pizza that was getting colder and colder and drinking wine and Oliver could see that one by one, his friends fell asleep as the night progressed. Either from exhaustion or too much alcohol. It had been a crazy few days and he hoped that things were going to turn back to normal soon.

When it was just her and Oliver left awake, she could see that the treatment she had given him was starting to wear off. "Want to go upstairs? I can draw you up a hot bath?" she whispered.

"Go back to sleep," he smiled at her. "I'm fine."

"You're hurting…" she frowned, running her hand carefully over his back to test his sensitivity.

Oliver sucked in a breath as she touched his back. "I've had worse. I know that I probably need to lay down for a while, a day or two preferably and get a lot of pills inside of me but I don't want that because that will delay us all."

"Then at least let's sleep in a comfortable bed. No need aggravating it further," Bella pointed out. "I can put more ointment on in the morning so that you can get through the day without pain."

Oliver grumbled. He'd always walked around with pain, this time it wasn't anything different. If he had to move, he'd move. "Do you have the herbs in dry form as well? Can I take a look at it?"

Nodding, Bella looked thoughtful. "You want some? I have a small box. A little goes a long way with that stuff. Plus you actually have to go to China to get it. I tried shops in Seattle but no luck."

"Oh, I have some," Oliver grinned with a nod. "Last time I went to the island to drop off Slade Wilson at an A.R.G.U.S. prison, I took some with me. Like you said, a little goes a long way."

"You'll have to tell me more about that one," she said, settling back down beside him as she realized that he wasn't willing to take any form of pain relief. As she felt herself start to drift back off, she murmured, "Promise you'll let me know if you're hurting too much. I don't like the thought of you in pain."

Oliver reached for a blanket and pulled it over Bella. With her using him as a pillow, he couldn't just get up and move around, do pushups, to get the pain out of his system like he usually did and it wasn't as if sitting up against the couch was going to do him any good but that was okay, he was going to deal with it in the morning. He switched off the television with the remote and slowly drifted off to sleep.


	14. 14: Blind Spot

**Disclaimer: We own nothing from Arrow or Twilight. Actually, we **_**really**_ **don't want to own **_**anything **_**of Twilight to be honest, but wouldn't mind having Oliver tied up in one of our beds...alas, but a fantasy, so all we can do is pretend, with words. The plot is ours alone.**

**~o.O.o~**

The morning after their impromptu slumber party, Bella had Derek come to the house where she had informed him of her future plans with the company. She also had informed him of her desire for him to take over as the head of the Starling City branch, a position she had begun to groom him for over the previous year, only she hadn't known for what location at the time. When she continued on in detail with what else would be coming, there were objections met by both the new CEO of Swan Security, Charlie, and Derek Allen, but she remained firm in how she wished to proceed.

Oliver had remained with her in support, though it had been clear that Bella's replacement wasn't particularly fond of the man. She simply ignored the testosterone charged atmosphere as she spoke with the company's lawyer over the phone about drawing up the necessary documents to have ready by the time they would submit their press release.

Of course, everyone knew that the media vultures would be scouring the city, trying to find her because they had let it leak that she was leaving the hospital and there were several photographers outside the exit where Oliver and Diggle were attempting to shield Bella as they were trying to get her into an awaiting car. While it had all been a part of the plan, it was still tiring. Oliver answered a few questions which had been anticipated, skillfully directing any others to Swan Security and would be responded to when she was ready before he slipped into the backseat with her where she had been carefully hiding her face and the smile that she shouldn't be showing.

The team waited nearly a week before agreeing that it was time to make the announcement. Bella had Charlie issue the press release, allowing her to step down and as he took over her role. She couldn't help but feel guilty for the extra work that he would be responsible for but he assured her repeatedly that he was more than willing to do it. It didn't help ease the guilt and she was always grateful that Diggle happened to be nearby if Oliver was somewhere that he hadn't need to worry about him that he pulled her off for some training to distract her.

It didn't concern her that a couple of the papers had gotten some shots of her working out with the man. The best was that particular morning when he picked her up to take to the club for some work on some of the equipment they used so that she might get familiar with it while Oliver wasn't around and stopped for coffee on the way. She picked up the newest tabloid that displayed an awkward picture of Diggle helping her stretch out a cramp when they were in the park two days before with the article hinting that they might be having some sort of secret romance underneath Oliver's nose.

Bella could not hold back the snort as she read the paper with interest, even going as far as adding it to their order of coffees when they went to pay. "You so have to read that in the car," she said in response to his curious expression, struggling to contain her laughter.

~o.O.o~

It had been sheer luck that he had been able to retain Queen Consolidated with help from Walter Steele and Oliver's own share of his mother's estate. Initially, he didn't want to use it and just leave the company as is, but he realized that he needed the money to fund his _hobby_. Walter was always there when he needed him and Oliver felt bad that he had treated him harshly in the past, especially after Oliver returned from the Island.

But even so, with all the money injected into the firm, it was still teetering on the edge of falling apart. Too much bad press, too many companies and shareholders wanting to get out of their contracts with QC because of the bad reputation, and it was simply frustrating. Even after a couple of months, the company was still hemorrhaging money left and right and he didn't know what to do about it. He certainly didn't want to fire anyone because he didn't want those people to be unemployed.

As he had told Walter a few years back; he didn't arrive back from the island after five years with an MBA. Oliver wasn't equipped to lead a company, it was his fault in the first place that Isabel Rochev had been able to take it fully - even though she had been running it for years - because he made a bad decision.

Oliver was good at making those.

He wasn't sure if Felicity was aware of the state of the company, she probably was and kept her mouth wisely shut. He loved her for her seemingly endless loyalty and her bubbly personality. He had been wise to make her his assistant, if only out of convenience at first, but she was good at sorting through his emails and get rid of the confusing nonsense of people asking things.

In the two weeks, Oliver had had meetings with Walter, asking him for advice, maybe to have someone Walter trusted work for QC and turn the negativity into something better. Make the right decisions. Make money. Oliver had to admit that teaming up with Bella for Verdant had been a good idea and people were starting to get interested in QC again but it was still a struggle and Oliver didn't have the right people surrounding him at work to deal with it all.

And Walter had come through within a matter of days, by the end of the week, Oliver had a team working for him to improve the company's business. The deal was pretty sweet too; if the company didn't make money in the next three months, he didn't have to pay them. They projected that within the year, he could afford paying off the loan to Walter and Starling City's National Bank.

The only condition Oliver had about them working for him was that new acquirements to the firm would be first vetted by him; he didn't know anything about running a business but from now on, QC was going to be used for good, for the improvement of Starling City by helping out the middle class and poor communities. New personnel was going to have to be looked for in those layers of society as well, the background checks had to be thorough and of course, tested for drugs. QC was going to turn over a new leaf, just like the Arrow had been doing.

He had gone out during the day a few times to help out with the police and at night he sometimes was picking up drug dealers and delivering them to the station. He'd rather go after Peter Warren, but it had seemed like he had vanished, no money trail, no credit card action, nothing. Oliver knew that he'd surface soon enough, or maybe not, since seemingly, he got what he was hired to do; getting Bella off balance. He still wanted to catch him though, the guy could validate that Carlisle Cullen had hired him. Then he'd allow Bella to make a few bruises on Peter and then the Arrow would drop him off at the police station with a bow wrapped around him.

"I think you did a good thing, Oliver," Felicity said as she walked into the office with his coffee and the newspaper. "Asking Walter for help."

"It'll be our secret," Oliver said as he looked at Felicity. "I don't want them to know."

"Yeah, don't worry about it," Felicity smiled and set his coffee on his desk. "You should read the paper, there's quite an interesting article in it."

Oliver opened the newspaper until Felicity pointed out the article. **Recently stepped down CEO of Swan Security cheating on Oliver Queen?** Oliver snickered and shook his head. If anything, he'd be the one to cheat, not her, given his track record - not that he wanted to - and she'd have his balls for it. "Interesting picture, she must have had a terrible cramp there."

"The angle is also quite flattering."

"Oh, quite," Oliver mused as he took a sip of his coffee. "I need to start planning a date with Bella tonight, care to help me?"

"YES!" Felicity said as she retrieved her laptop from her desk outside Oliver's office and sat down in a chair opposite of him. "Alright, tell me your ideas and I'll see if they're… good ones."

~o.O.o~

Downstairs at Verdant, Bella had been drenched in sweat as she was going through one of the routines that Diggle had her running that afternoon. She had tended to be more focused on their workouts when there wasn't anyone else around, or at least when the other girls weren't there. Often she wondered why their presence bothered her, but she tended to push it off as unimportant as something else came up and other matters took precedence.

Suddenly, the theme music from an old cartoon from the 80s rang from her phone making her grin through her exercise. "Mind answering that for me Alfred? It should be Chuck," she called out.

"_Captain Planet_, seriously?" Diggle chuckled as he walked to Bella's phone and put it on speaker. "Mr. Harper," he greeted the kid.

"_Hey Diggle. I take it Miss Swan is still busy?"_ Roy replied over the phone, but all the two were able to get was a grunt from the woman as she tried working her way through another obstacle. "_Nevermind. There's a delivery upstairs here for her and - well, they will only allow her to sign off for whatever it is."_

She jumped down from the bars she'd been hanging from, unable to pull herself up for anymore. "Great timing," she huffed. "Give me five minutes and I'll be right up. I wasn't expecting them for another two days but this will do."

Bella didn't even bother with changing as she just simply wiped away the sweat and made herself as presentable as she could because it was going to be another workout to get the items moved. "Come on Muscles. You're helping," she said as she waved him to follow.

He had to admit, in the past two weeks, Diggle had spent a lot of time with Bella - probably even more than Oliver had, which was a bit weird to realize - and she moved in mysterious ways. She had her little secrets and a lot of tricks upon her sleeve. He had come to appreciate her feistiness and her inability to give up. Oliver was one lucky man.

Upstairs at the back door, Bella eyed the area carefully as she took the clipboard from the usual delivery drivers from her company. "Thanks Steve. I appreciate this," she said.

"No problem. Anything else you need, just let me know. If I hear of any other toys available, you'll be the first to know," he winked as he began unloading the truck and setting them inside the door and out of sight from anyone that may be passing on the street.

"You're not going to tell Derek or my father?" she clarified.

"Nah. I've always worked for you Miss Swan so anything you need, just give me a hollar. You know how I am," he said with a look that had her rolling her eyes as she shoved him back towards the truck after he unloaded the last case.

"I'll be in touch. I may need you to take a trip for me to China - I don't know yet. Same area where we were a few years ago," she said, making him nod without a word. He left without any further scene and she turned back to the two, snapping her fingers. "What are you two standing there for? Let's start getting these downstairs so that Diggle can get his excitement out of his system before Bruce gets back to the Batcave."

Once they had all the boxes downstairs, Bella started to open them one by one and Diggle could not believe his eyes as he looked at the top of the line and very expensive weapons. "Oliver is going to flip his lid but wow." He picked up one of the sniper rifles and looked at Bella. "You know how to handle these? I'm impressed!"

"If I'm not going to be able to be in all the action, I'm going to want to do something. I'm betting that there had been more than a few close calls. I know he doesn't care for firearms, but you don't have to kill people with these either. I could use the target practice by taking out a few kneecaps," she smiled sweetly as she pulled one of her favorites out and expertly took it apart. "And the best part is, we have silencers for every piece here so he can't bitch about the noise factor."

Diggle let out a heartwarming laugh. Oh yes, this girl had Oliver all figured out.

"Wow, can I use these too?" Roy said in awe.

"No," Diggle said, looking at the kid. "You're not going to touch a firearm, ever. Maybe when you've grown up a little."

"Dude, I'm 23 years old."

"Dude, you're still a kid." Diggle said, repeating the same intonation as Roy had used.

Bella smiled up at him and winked. "Give it time. Believe me it took awhile for me to convince even my father to let me participate in the training. I'll be happy to start with some handguns and rifles with you first later but seriously these things are going to be off limits for awhile," she replied as she looked over the collection. "Its how we all learn and respect the dangers these types of weapons bring."

Roy then smirked. "I can't wait to see you getting frustrated when Oliver decides to teach you how to use a bow and arrow. He had me slap a bowl of water for hours and I couldn't stop."

The smile that was on her face slowly fell as she looked up at him. "He did what?" she asked, a familiarity hitting her with the image of a person performing such a move in her mind.

"He had me standing at that table," Roy said, pointing, "And a huge bowl of water and I had to slap it. To-"

"To build muscle strength for pulling the bow back and the patience for using a bow with it," she stated, her eyes darting around nervously.

"Aw man, don't tell me you've already done that somewhere during your ninja training."

She shook her head and said nothing as she started to put away the rifle she had in her hands before she might drop it. The theory that Oliver had shared with her about her heritage seemed to be proving more true as that wasn't something that she had read about, it was just some knowledge that seemed ingrained in her. "Anyone know what the plan is for tonight?" she asked, overly eager to change the subject as she snapped the case shut, the sound echoing in the room.

"Nope," Both Diggle and Roy chorused and Roy quickly excused himself to see if he needed to do something upstairs.

"Oliver believes I may be related to the people who once lived on the island he was on generations ago," she whispered to Diggle once Roy was gone, as she went on inspecting each case to make sure everything was present and account for.

"How so?" Diggle knew that Felicity was still running a deep analysis on Bella's DNA to see what else she could find. But Oliver was usually right in cases like these. For some reason he couldn't quite explain.

Shrugging, Bella opened a case that had a number of grenades. "Fucking Steve," she muttered. "Um, he had injured his back the night of that sleepover outside and I had some ointment that I made from herbs that a shaman in China had given me when I was there. Oliver said that he might have sensed that I was family or something, I don't know. I mean, I've always known I'd been adopted but it wasn't any big deal. Now with this metagene business… I can't help but feel like it's a strange coincidence that my blood relatives and Oliver were on that island."

"Well," Diggle said as he leaned against the desk and folded his hands in his lap. "I don't really believe in fate or spiritual stuff, it's all too… _floaty_ to me but in the past few years I've seen some extraordinary things happen. What I know are facts; the Queen's Gambit, the boat Oliver and his father were on was sabotaged by Moira and Malcolm Merlyn. Now, it could be a coincidence that they were travelling in that region but you're suggesting that something maybe ensured that the Queen's Gambit's captain took them there because they knew that the boat was sabotaged and knew that Oliver would survive on that island? Sounds a bit… iffy, don't you think?"

"No. I was in China during the time when Oliver was already on Lian Yu, but I know the history of that place. When he mentioned it, I just - knew. I mean I've read some about the local culture before I went there, but I've never been to that island. I probably know more about it than the average layman though, for not having lived there. At least before it turned into the hell that my - that Oliver experienced."

"Why were you so interested in the island to read up on it?" Diggle asked curiously. "I mean, to the public, it was nothing more than an open prison, isolated by the sea surrounding it. They didn't even know Oliver was still alive."

"Curiosity never killed a cat, you know that?" Bella smiled at Diggle. "There were rumours about an island off the coast of China, it wasn't a fact, they were simply rumours and I like rumours, as they often contain the truth. Granted, it wasn't easy with getting the information that I wanted - when the Chinese government want something buried, they go to extreme lengths, but so do I to get what I want." She closed another crate and looked at him. "The more I learned, the more I felt a certain pull towards it, it's hard to explain, really. Or maybe it isn't. You've heard my father, Oliver and I were close when we were children."

"Spiritual mumbo-jumbo?"

"Maybe," Bella said with a grin on her face.

"Maybe, you're trying hard to explain something that's not really there. That it really is just a coincidence."

She nodded slowly. "It probably is but the girl in me likes to wonder too. Don't tell him that. I'm full of contradictions."

"Speaking of the girl inside you, Oliver just sent me a text to tell you to dress up."

Looking up at him, she raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "What the hell for?" she asked. "We have training to do."

"I don't know," Diggle said with a shrug. "All I know is that Laurel is coming to pick you up soon for a spa afternoon."

Bella groaned in protest as her head fell back to her shoulders. "I fucking hate the spa," she moaned. "If she's involved in whatever Oliver has planned, is going to be a long and painful day. I'd rather be here letting Sara yank out my teeth. This better fucking be worth it."

He grinned as he pointed to the boxes. "I shall ask Roy to push them to the side. I will be escorting you and Laurel today."

"Great! You know what that means, right?" Bella asked with a devilish smirk.

"Yes, that I don't have to accompany you to every room," Diggle nodded. "Just have to make sure no member of the press follows you in."

"Nope. You'll be there for parts, absolutely. I'm even paying," she said innocently as she headed for the shower, ignoring the groan of realization that came from the man.

_She's making me participate._ Diggle texted his friend. _You're not going to survive this, Oliver._

_Cheer up, have a mani and pedi. _

_This better be worth it._

_For her, yes._

_She's planning something to do with China. Bella has some strange fascination about that island. You should know. _

_Not happy but expected. Everyone wants to know where they come from eventually._

_She also bought us some new toys. I have to say she is a lot like you._

_She needs to save her money, we've got enough toys. _

_Not like these. _

_You're impressed then?_

_Very._

_Fine. New toys. Will have to check them out when I get to Verdant in about an hour. Have to go, being scolded at for texting in a meeting._

Diggle relaxed in his chair and waited for Bella to be done and Laurel to arrive. This was going to be a long afternoon.

~o.O.o~

He had humoured the ladies by going with them and he was going to kill Oliver later, if Bella didn't get to him first. Diggle was now driving Bella and Laurel to the mansion for Bella to get changed in something fancy. "You did have a good time, admit it. Oliver won't have to know," Laurel snorted - she maybe had had too much champagne.

Bella glared at her cousin, barely able to mask her disdain for the whole event. "Tell me what that boy has planned," she said. "I know you know. Maybe then I'll consider if that whole experience, Alfred aside, was worth it."

"I honestly don't know," Laurel said, shaking her head. "I haven't seen Ollie all day, he's been busy at the firm and I honestly don't know what's going on apart from him thinking you needed a friend during your spa treatment," she beamed.

"More like someone to suffer with me," she retorted. "Fine. At least text the fucker so that I know what kind of dress I'm wearing. I don't know what level of fancy he expected when he made these plans and men don't know shit about fashion."

_She wants to know what kind of dress. How fancy? Where are you GOING?!_

_Nothing too fancy, but you know, kinda like the dress she wore on opening night. Not saying anything. You'll spoil the surprise._

Laurel relayed the message to Bella. "What is he up to? I'm curious now," she grinned.

"Is he thinking with his dick? That dress screamed sex. Fine. I have a red one that will have him on his knees before dessert," she sighed, but had a small smile on her lips.

_Oh, and we're staying at my place tonight, have her pack an overnight bag._

"Well, he's definitely up to something alright. You need to bring a change of clothes because you're not going home tonight but you're staying with him."

"Definitely with his dick. Fine. I'll play along," Bella said as she considered sending him some racy photos of her changing but decided against it. "If the evening gets interrupted, again, someone is bound to pay with their life."

"Ohhh, someone wants sexy times," Laurel chuckled. "It's weird, actually. Oliver's not the best with romantic things…"

Diggle set his jaw as he focused on the road. He hated girl talk, and now, with three girls on the team, sometimes four, he was going to experience it more. He definitely needed to call some of his buddies for a manly night out. Paintball or something.

~o.O.o~

Oliver looked around in his apartment and smiled. Maybe it was completely over the top, but what would he know? He was not romantically inclined and Felicity had humored him. There were flowers everywhere - Felicity would all pack it up tomorrow and bring it over to Bella's house - and there was some good wine, some snacks if she wanted… Felicity had scolded him when she inquired about his dress plans, so he was wearing his monkey suit and not just pants and a shirt.

He got into his car and started the the 20 mile journey to Bella's home to pick her up for dinner. Oliver had arranged for a romantic dinner at Alfredo's and it was up to Bella if they were going to the movies or home. To be completely honest, he'd rather go straight home and devour her but that would be rude.

As he got closer and closer to the house, he was starting to get nervous and scolded himself for it. Why was he nervous? It was Bella. And he was taking her on a date. A real date and not something convenient. He didn't do dates. And now he did.

After parking the car in the driveway, he got out of it and lifted a bouquet of red roses off the back seat. If he was going to do this, he was going to do it properly. Taking a deep breath, he marched up to the door and rang the doorbell.

Diggle answered the door for Bella with a scowl on his face. His displeasure over the afternoon overshadowed his excitement from her additions to their arsenal and he made sure the man knew it. "I hate you. I hope she makes you suffer before you make it back to your place tonight."

"Noted," Oliver said with a smile on his face. "Had a good time then?" He laughed when Diggle took a swing at him but missed. "I promise, you won't have to go through that again."

He wasn't sure if he could believe him because if he was anywhere near Bella and she had to go through that again, he was certain she would drag whoever she could with her kicking and screaming. "Right. She will be down in a minute. She actually just ran back up to get her bag that you decided to add on there."

"That was an hour ago!" Oliver whined with a sigh as he leaned against the doorpost.

"Don't do that," Diggle said as he shook his head. "Not when you're taking her out on an official date. You sure you want to do this? Because she may put on a damn good act, but that girl is looking forward to this."

"Yes Dig, I want to do this," Oliver replied as he straightened himself up. "I have absolutely no idea if it will work out the way I want it to or if she's going to like it but I want to do this."

Waiting for Bella to come down the stairs was agony but when she did, dressed up in that gorgeous red dress, Oliver nearly salivated. It was a figure hugging dress and it showed off all her curves in all the right places and she looked absolutely beautiful. "Wow," he said after realizing that he hadn't been breathing until he spoke.

"Oliver. I really want to know what the hell you are thinking because I was in the zone this afternoon with my workout," she grinned as she handed him her overnight bag.

"Well, I was thinking that we both deserve a break," he said with a nod and swapped her bag for the flowers. "Got you these. I wasn't sure what kind of flowers you liked and I was told that roses are a safe way to go…"

Bella smiled as she took them, unsure what to say. "Um, thanks?" She said bewildered as she held the flowers as she hadn't been given anything particularly romantic before like that. While the longest relationships she had really were with the likes of assholes who never considered such gestures, her other companions were only long enough to merely pass a lonely night with so flowers and candlelight dinners weren't part of the brochure.

"Oh, you don't like them, I'm sorry," Oliver said as his face fell.

"No, no. I love them. It's just, um, really stupid. I never got flowers before..." she admitted with her face reddening in slight embarrassment.

Diggle rubbed his face in second hand embarrassment. This was going to be a disaster and he was glad that he wasn't going to be around to clean this one up, although he might follow just for the show. There was some sort of mating ritual going on, he was sure of it. He had seen how Oliver and Bella were around each other and there was something _there_ alright.

Laurel had said to him earlier today that Oliver used to be a _fine, you want to go out, let's go out_ kind of guy, hardly romantic and incredibly selfish. The Oliver they were seeing now was trying to be romantic and not being selfish and it was just _so cute_. And really embarassing to watch seeing as Bella wasn't any better at it.

"Oh, that's good," Oliver breathed a sigh of relief. "But isn't that what you do on a date? Bring flowers?"

"Is that what tonight is? A date?" Bella questioned, her lips twitching as she resisted the urge to smile. "I thought you didn't do dates."

"I don't, but we should. At least once, right?"

"So while we're not dating, we're going on a date just for the hell of it?" she asked curiously, amused at the faces Diggle was making behind him.

"Stop messing with my head and just come with me," Oliver said, rolling his eyes, as he took her hand and started to pull her out of the house.

Bella handed off the bouquet to Diggle as she passed him, waving at an amused Laurel who had been watching from the nearby room. As the gentleman he was raised to be, he had held the door open for her as she slid into the passenger seat of his car and her eyes followed him as he made his way around until he was beside her. She couldn't help but stare at him, curious as to the sudden change of mind for the decision that drove him to want to plan an actual date. As it is, she had found herself wondering what they were to one another randomly.

Since she had told everyone her decision that she was stepping down from Swan Security, it seemed as if fate had been playing a cruel game with finding ways to keep the two apart. While they were able to have periods where they were able to sit and talk, over lunch or a quick dinner before he left for his _Arrow_ duties, something inevitably would happen when they would begin to become more intimate where he was called away or she had to respond to a phone call to help with a problem with the company that only she had dealt with previously.

She had experienced dry spells in the past and it never bothered her as much as the frustration she had begun to endure. It helped greatly that she was able to throw herself into the training regimen that Diggle set up for her, but on the particularly worse days, she needed more and she had him work her harder. Going home at night to pass out cold was the only way she would get any sleep if Oliver wasn't able to come to the house since her father was back.

Still, _whatever_ they were, it was possibly the closest thing she could classify as a relationship she had since the disasters that were named Edward and Aaron, but on the opposite spectrum. As she had proven to herself that she had a terrible taste in men, the tiny, insecure girl inside of her seemed to always be waiting for Oliver to do something to screw things up with her and allow the raging bitch that the public seemed to love to come out. That was probably the only reason why Bella resisted asking him about what he considered them to be, because if he considered them in a committed relationship, then that would give one another the keys to hurt the other. Without the label, there were no strings, and she would let him go if that was what he wanted.

Unfortunately for Bella, she found that she wanted to keep him. The thought alone made her sigh as she looked out the car window, feeling at odds with herself, waiting for him to lead her that night.

"I'm sorry we haven't seen much of each other in the last week," Oliver said as he turned the car onto the highway towards the city. "Today I finally felt that I could let go of it and organise this _date_," he smiled at her before turning his eyes back onto the road. "You look absolutely beautiful."

She returned his smile as she bit her lip. "Thank you. And you look devilishly handsome tonight. I am still just having a bit of a hard time wrapping my head around this whole - scenario," she confessed, quickly rushing her words out as she looked at him. "I don't understand where you see this going. I mean, I know where you plan on it going tonight, obviously. I do too. Hell, personally I'm at the point I'll end up on a murderous rampage if we get interrupted _again_."

Oliver snorted as he thought about her words. "I think you made it very clear last week that you claimed me," he said carefully. He hadn't minded when she did, her jealousy towards Sara was adorable, his non-interaction with Sara should have told her that he was only interested in Bella, Bella's threat to have his balls... "Unless I am mistaken, you claimed me right that first day in my office."

Bella eyed him as she thought back to the night at the club. "I don't think I'm quite following you. What about that night at the club? And yes - I was feeling a little possessive when I saw Sara all over you. The bitch was whoring herself out like it was nothing, and it was obvious that you were uncomfortable with the attention! Are we going to give whatever this is a full go at it? Is that what you want?"

"Everyone saw it but us," Oliver explained and then nodded. "Didn't we agree to that as well?" He asked carefully, unsure of himself as maybe he had interpreted everything wrong.

She turned away, trying to look anywhere else but at him. "I don't know what we agreed to because neither of us seemed to have been able to bring it up. I don't know what to tell my dad when he keeps asking me what the hell you are to me. If you're just my friend, boyfriend, fuck buddy - not that he'd use those words because he just about had a coronary trying to get the thought across. He's curious to know and it's not only him because he has to field questions from the media, which I'm sure your people are doing for you, about our relationship and they have to keep throwing out bullshit excuses. Normally, I wouldn't give a shit but I just want to give them something to get them off our backs to leave us the fuck alone."

She wanted to label _them_ and normally it would have scared him shitless, because that was usually the point where he went wrong. He was Laurel's boyfriend and yet took her sister on a boating trip and it went wrong. When he returned, he was with Laurel again and with Sara and… but he was _with_. There hadn't been labels. If he had to be honest with himself, this whole dating idea was triggered by the picture of Bella and Diggle in the paper and what the media was writing. Normally, he wouldn't care, and rationality told him that Diggle was happy with his ex-wife, his pregnant ex-wife, and that Bella wouldn't go for another but still. He hadn't liked the feeling at all. But he was also scared of labels. He didn't know what she wanted exactly and didn't want to scare her off either. "I uhh…" he scratched his head. "I'd very much would like to be yours. Your uhm… boyfriend."

Bella looked back at him quickly, the surprise obvious on her face as she slowly nodded. "I'd like that too," she said delicately. "This - is probably going to be a new experience for the both of us I believe…"

"The proper labels… scary," he laughed nervously as he took the exit ramp towards Starling City.

"No shit. Considering my history of men, I don't exactly have the best track record either," she remarked as she sat back in her seat in her own state of shock.

"We can do this, Bella," Oliver smiled at her. "You're bulletproof and I'm the Arrow. We are fucking badass."


	15. 15: Flawed

**Disclaimer: We own nothing from Arrow or Twilight. Actually, we **_**really**_ **don't want to own **_**anything **_**of Twilight to be honest, but wouldn't mind having Oliver tied up in one of our beds...alas, but a fantasy, so all we can do is pretend, with words. The plot is ours alone.**

**~o.O.o~**

The date at Alfredo's could have gone better if it weren't for the both of them being so damn awkward and not up to date on social rules. After Bella had suggested that they'd pretend to be on a fake date, things started to go a little bit smoother. Bella had ordered mushroom ravioli while he went for tagliatelle alfredo with added chicken and mushrooms, just in case the chef couldn't make the ravioli since they weren't on the menu.

After their dinner, they retreated to Oliver's apartment where every room was decorated with flowers, roses and lilies - mostly because Oliver really didn't know what to get her, but they weren't looked at as Bella had dragged him off into the bedroom where they stayed for the rest of the night.

When he woke up the next morning, Bella was still asleep. Pleased with himself and the view that he had of Bella looking like some sort of tiny angelic devil, he got out of bed and went to the kitchen to make the both of them some coffee and breakfast while he checked his messages on the phone. He had had his phone on silent ever since he had left the office yesterday as he really didn't want to be disturbed or distracted on his evening out with Bella.

Most messages were from Felicity and they were a little hard to ignore as there were so many.

_Congratulations, you've made it to the paper, again. She looked hot!_

_You didn't look so bad yourself, either. Hope the food was good!_

_You have to call me asap._

_Come to the arrowcave._

_Oliver, wake up and come here! Take Bella with you!_

_OLIVER!_

_Oh, caps don't really work on the phone, do they? Hurry up, this is important. I finished with Bella's DNA. It's fascinating._

Oliver snorted. Perhaps it was important, but right now, the most important thing was to have a relaxed morning. Both he and Bella had been hitting the ground running early the last two weeks - either with work or actually running - and they deserved a no fuss morning.

Satisfied by his own handy work; toast, eggs, coffee, he went back to the bedroom to wake up Bella with a nice breakfast in bed. "Good morning, gorgeous," he smiled at her. She looked so well fucked underneath that seemingly serene expression on her face. She was no angel, she was a vampire - and he loved it.

Bella greeted Oliver with a sleepy smile as she turned her head on the pillow to face him, letting it drop back down. Grabbing his waistband, she tried to pull him back into the bed. "Morning Baby," she murmured, testing the pet name with their new status on their first full day as a couple. "You look well rested. Come back to bed..."

"I will," he snorted as he set down the tray on the nightstand and crawled back in bed. He leaned over her and softly kissed her. "I got you some coffee," he kissed her again.

She moaned into his mouth at the mention of the coffee, quickly distracted. "Okay," she said as she pulled away, looking over at the ready he had set aside with their breakfast. "It's going to be crazy today, isn't it?" Bella asked, sitting up as she took a lazy effort to cover herself.

"Well, that depends," he replied as he handed her a mug. "Do you really want to know where you're from? She might even have your birth parents on record."

Bella looked up from her steaming cup of bliss hesitantly. "Um, sure. Did Felicity say anything concerning?"

"Nah, just her usual excitement about learning something new, nothing to worry about." Oliver grabbed a piece of toast and took a bite off of it. "And she's only done this to confirm my thoughts about your ancestors originating from the region, so all she has to do is validate that, I suppose."

Making a face, she knew the perfect start of the day was going to turn into a long one. With a resigned sigh, Bella rubbed at her faced in attempt to wake herself more. "We may as well as get a start then. Hopefully we can keep her contained if we get this over with sooner and maybe get back before Pandora decides to make a personal visit to Starling City."

"Hmm, but the perfect thing is?" Oliver smiled at her as he reached for his coffee. "She sent me messages, didn't actually call me. So, we can have a very very late morning."

"As far as she knows, you haven't read them yet," she smirked.

"Exactly," Oliver grinned as he took a sip of his coffee.

Bella laughed as she threw the sheet back and stretched. "As tempting as it sounds, I am intrigued to see what she found out. Also, I was hoping, Ollie, darling, that you would actually start my training soon. Alfred thinks I can begin with some stuff."

He put his mug back on the table and put his toast down. "Yeah?" He smiled at her. "How's your upper body strength?"

"If you're talking about the salmon ladder, think again. I know I'm not that strong yet-"

"Not the salmon ladder," he countered and shook his head. "Even Sara has problems with it."

"Can we leave her out of any discussion whenever we're in bed?" Bella asked, grimacing as she pulled away to go look for her bag.

"I was wondering how your upper body strength was because you need when using a bow. If I think it's not sufficient, we're going to work on that. I know you've been running with Diggle, so maybe we're going to work with some weights today or do some chin-ups."

She nodded in acceptance. "Sounds good," she grinned as she slipped a sports bra on, happy to have packed workout clothes so that she didn't have to change again right away. "We bringing them anything or?"

"Well," Oliver smirked. "How about no? We're going to run from here to Verdant. Easy."

Bella narrowed her eyes, as she finished dressing with a grunt. "You're supposed to be the caring boyfriend now. Not trying to kill me by inducing a cardiac arrest."

Oliver grinned as he got out of bed and got dressed into sweatpants and a t-shirt before getting a backpack. "Start stretching."

"Hmm something else for the papers to run wild about. Us working out together now that you found out I'm cheating on you with your driver. Don't trust me anymore?" she chuckled.

"What? _Former Billionaire kills girlfriend on a run_?" He snorted as he put a change of clothes for the both of them in the bag, including both their phones and wallets so that Bella didn't have to carry anything to make her run a bit smoother. The Glades wasn't that far away from the apartment, but it was still quite the jog. It could have been worse. He could have had her run back to her house. Twenty miles. Maybe in a couple of months.

~o.O.o~

By the time they reached Verdant, Bella had already had at least eight different scenarios of Oliver's murder plotted in her head as she glared at the back of his head while she followed him through the empty club, slugging down her second bottle of water. "I hate you," she said again, losing count the number of times she repeated the mantra since they left the complex.

"I know," he grinned. "But you wanted to train with me, not my fault." He opened the door to the basement, both he and Bella were sweaty messes. "I'll give you half an hour to catch your breath while we hear what Felicity has to say, then we're going to do a few press ups."

"I hate you!" she repeated louder but the others were able to hear now, startled.

"We could always run back and get the car?" Oliver inquired with a smirk on his face as he jumped off the steps.

Bella sneered at him, walking much slower as she prayed the longer run wouldn't begin causing her legs to cramp up. "Asshole," she muttered as she went over to pull herself up onto the table beside Diggle and started rubbing her legs down. "Magnesium?"

Diggle chuckled as he held out a bottle to her and some pills. "It has every vitamin that you need to combat some of the torture that he just had you live through."

"Thanks," she grumbled, swallowing a few pills dry. "So what did we miss?"

Oliver sat on his haunches on a chair next to Felicity and looked at her from his perch. "For now, just the confirmation or non-confirmation about her ancestors, Felicity."

"Oh," Felicity's face fell a bit and typed something on her computer before a screen popped up. "Well, your ancestors were definitely not from China, they were from the Philippines and they were from a small tribe that's now either extinct or so watered down down the line that it's not… well, it doesn't exist anymore. A handful of relatives definitely live on the mainland of China. What I've discovered is that this tribe firmly believed in soul magic and reincarnation. That at birth, the child is already promised to 'the one' who's on its wavelength because their souls met in a previous life or something like that. That every member of the tribe, distant relative or if you only have a smidgen of that DNA left in you, can sense if they share the same ancestors."

"Sounds like a fairy tale to me," Diggle chuckled.

"I can't possibly begin to tell you if they have anything to do with those herbs you mentioned, there really isn't much to go on, you know," Felicity said as she spun her chair and looked at Bella - who looked dead tired - and then at Oliver. "Was this what you were after?"

"Yep. That's one mystery settled." Oliver said with a nod as he hopped off the chair and started to prepare the salmon ladder so that Bella could do some chin ups on it after she pushed herself up a few times.

"You're catching my dead ass," Bella commented, not having commented on what she heard yet about her heritage because she was still processing it. She looked up at the bar with disdain, as if hoping it would magically disappear.

"It's on the lowest rod, you can reach for it while you're standing on the ground. It's only to do chin ups. It works fine." Oliver said as he showed her what he was talking about. "Just like those bars in primary school where you used to tumble over, like so." He pulled himself up and then tipped over to roll over the bar and landed on his feet after release. "It's just the grown up way now."

She scoffed as she pulled herself up for the first rep. "I hope you weren't planning on getting laid tonight after that run..."

He grinned and grabbed her around the waist to pull her away from the rod. "First, I want you to do ten pushups. Then, ten on the rod, then back to ten on the floor."

"Oliver, aren't you being a little too hard on her?" Diggle asked carefully. "You've already had her run from the apartment to here."

"She asked me this morning if I could start training with her and this is easy stuff," Oliver said with a shrug. "Besides, if I'm working her too hard, she'll say something. Like… stop," he said, looking at Bella. "Right?"

"He's just punishing himself right now," she replied. "I'll be too sore for any kind participation later so he's on his own."

"I'll go get the car," Diggle said with a sigh as he got to his feet. "Felicity, you keep an eye on them. If Oliver goes too far, hit him over the head with something heavy. Bella's not a superhuman."

"I thought the bullet proof skin was evidence to the contrary," Bella joked as she continued her pull ups despite Oliver trying to get her down.

"Come on, Bella, you need to do some push ups too, to strengthen your back muscles."

Diggle laughed as he heard Oliver whine and left the basement to fetch Oliver's car.

"Fine," she said as she let herself go, dropping onto him.

"Bella, you asked me to train you, I'm not like Diggle. If we're going to do this, I need you to focus," Oliver was strictly business as he spoke and straightened her up before letting go of her. "No jokes, no flirting, no sex talk. If you're not going to do what I'm telling you to do, then I'm wasting my time."

Sighing, she looked at him disappointed. It was her way of taking her mind off the pain and push through the harder parts of the training she knew he did. Blinking back against his words, Bella only nodded as she walked away as she went to start on the push ups, her face tensing the further she got along but said nothing.

"Oliver…"

"Felicity, not now," Oliver said as he walked over to the sink and got a big pan out of it and filled it with water while Bella did as he told her to do. _She_ had wanted to train with him and even from Diggle _he_ expected focus and to take things seriously. Once the pan was filled, he set it down on a workbench and turned to Bella. "Okay, that's enough for today. You've done great."

Bella grunted something in return as she rubbed her arms with a frown as she slowly moved to look over the table, eyeing the water knowingly. She wasn't sure what expression she had on her face, but she knew that the girl didn't like it and she couldn't bring herself to react as she had put herself back into somewhat of a similar mindset as when she was working some field cases with her company.

"Yeah, go take a shower to keep those muscles warm," Felicity said as she got up from her chair and shot a look at Oliver that could have killed him. She wrapped a warm coat around Bella and ushered her to the shower. Just because he hadn't coddled Bella, didn't mean that she could. "He's a jerk."

"He hasn't worked out with me before so relax," she said quietly, rolling her shoulder as she let herself be guided away. It wouldn't hurt to wash up some especially after that run. "I'll be fine. I'll just continue my cardio with Diggle, that's all."

"He has no right to treat you the way that he did just now," Felicity said as she turned on the shower. "Will you be alright in here?"

Bella eyed her, nodding. "He takes this seriously so don't fault him for that. I'll be fine."

"Okay, let me know if you need anything," Felicity said as she dropped Oliver's backpack to the floor and headed back, only to see him up on the salmon ladder. "You're lucky you're up there!" She called out to him.

"Or what?" Oliver said, looking down on Felicity.

She turned around and sat back down behind her computer. "Nothing," she muttered as she typed away on her keyboard. "Hit him with something heavy," she muttered to herself. "Yeah, right."

"Any leads on Peter Warren, Felicity?" He asked as he grabbed the rod and climbed his way down again. He left the rod on the lowest rank and jumped down before making his way over to his station to make new arrows. Both he and Roy had burned through at least half of them during the last week, if not more.

"He still hasn't visited his house and he hasn't shown up at Bella's house either. Diggle thinks he's in the wind."

"Keep looking. If he is, he'll show up somewhere."

"I'll get right on that," she said sarcastically as she opened the new window to start a fresh search. "You're lucky Bella is head over heels for you. Even working with Diggle, I've noticed that she deals with the stress he puts on her with humor but she always succeeded in whatever challenge he gave. Two weeks may not be a lot of time but she's a lot more relaxed and friendlier since retiring even with joining the team."

"Yeah, that's a good thing," Oliver said as he focused on what he was doing. "And I'm not Diggle."

"And she is not Sara to react the same way as you do," Felicity reminded him. "She _has_ been working her ass off. You just haven't seen it."

"What's your point?"

"My point is," Felicity said as she stopped typing but kept her back towards Oliver as not seeing him gave her the strength to say things to him that she normally wouldn't - where was Laurel when you needed her? "Even though she's a lot like you, she is _not_ like you. She's a normal human being with normal feelings and..." She turned around when she heard the door close. Oliver wasn't sitting behind his work bench anymore and his suit and bow were missing. "Great."

Oliver was lucky that he kept his motorbike at Verdant, this made it easier for him to get faster to where he wanted to be without having to jump over rooftops. Riding his bike also gave him the opportunity to think. Had he been too hard on Bella? Perhaps, but this wasn't a joke. He needed to know that she'd be safe when she'd be in the field with him I obecause despite her being safe from projectiles and some forms of impact, she needed to be able to look after herself his way. No guns.

Yeah, she had training - obviously, but it wasn't good enough. And maybe, Bella hadn't thought this properly through. Had he been an asshole for having her run all across town to the Glades with him? Yeah, maybe. But she could have stopped him. She should have.

He parked his bike at the end of the street where Peter Warren lived before making his way over to the house. He found the backdoor open and decided to look around for clues - maybe Peter liked to keep notes and would tell Oliver exactly where he was.

The house was a pig sty, smelling of cat feces and mould. No wonder, he was still in the Glades and he had read about poor housing, but this couldn't be healthy. What if a family lived in a house like this? No doubt the children would get sick! There were boxes everywhere with each a different label, but he didn't have to look in them because right on the dinner table was a map and blueprint of Bella's property and several areas were tagged as possible spots to keep an eye on the house and see everything without being seen himself.

Oliver made a mental note of all locations and slipped out of the house again. Peter Warren could not be found, he had vanished into thin air - but what if he'd been on the property all along, biding his time until Bella was alone in the house so he could continue terrorizing her? Just the idea of that made Oliver's blood boil as he ran back to his bike and started his journey to the mansion. Seeing that it was only around 2pm, Oliver was going to surprise Peter during daylight. Oliver was going to find the asshole's camp, he was going to capture him, interrogate him and deliver him to A.R.G.U.S. as a normal prison was simply out of the question.

~o.O.o~

Bella had set herself to work on the bowl of water, silently staring as the water splashed with every strike she made. She never complained as she sat there and when she slapped the bowl empty, she stood to refill it and switched arms to begin the routine all over again.

When Diggle returned, he was not surprised that Oliver was gone but he was surprised by Bella who seemed to be zoned out while hitting the water. He looked at Felicity while pointing at Bella. "Did he tell her to do that?"

"No, he just put it down before he left."

"Why did he leave? When?"

"I scolded him for working her too hard…" Felicity said softly. "And I can't get her to stop."

Diggle groaned. "This is all my fault."

"Why? You weren't an ass to her."

Diggle took the pan away from Bella and emptied it in the sink before gathering her things. "No, but I have been trying to get her to take it easy during our runs because she's pushing herself too much. I've been complimenting her too much so she might have thought that she was ready to deal with Oliver's training. This is my fault." He wrapped a coat around Bella and handed her a bottle of mixed water and vitamins. "Come on lady, let's get you home."

Diggle was more pissed off with himself than he was with Oliver, he realized as he drove Bella home. He had given Bella the confidence of her being able to keep up with Oliver since he had been the one taking her out for a run and he had known that she pushed herself too hard. He tried his best to slow her down, but he should have made it clear to her that she was nowhere ready for what Oliver had in mind. He should also have warned her about him, period.

Whereas Diggle understood that people had different ways to workout, Oliver demanded focus and no fooling around. Oliver didn't really like it when people talked to him when he was working out and only had accepted it as a necessity because he wasn't the only one in the basement anymore, but he'd rather that everyone just did their job.

He kept an eye on Bella through the rearview mirror, and was happy that she had started to snap out of her zone somewhat, there was some colour back on her cheeks and her eyes didn't look so vacant. What the hell was Oliver thinking anyway? Bella was a lot more sensitive than she let on - and just as stubborn as Oliver. First have her run all the way from the apartment to Verdant and then have her do a few push ups? Was he nuts? Yes, Diggle was to blame for this mess, but Oliver should have known better.

As he drove up to the driveway, he noticed that Charlie wasn't home and sighed. There was no one to keep an eye on Bella. "You need to take an ice bath, Bella," Diggle said as he looked at her. "You're going to hurt in all the wrong places tomorrow."

"Eh, I've been through worse," Bella casually shrugged as she nearly tumbled out of the car when she opened the door. "Dig, I'm fine," she said as he helped her up. "I'm going to do as you said, take an ice bath and then I'm going to crawl into bed with some Tylenol and behave."

"Would you like me to find Oliver?"

"No," she said as she shook her head. "Not because I don't want him here, because I do, but because he'll come when he's done with whatever he's doing right now." She opened the door and managed a smile for him. "I'll call Charlie to pick up groceries on his way back."

"Do you require assistance inside?"

"Diggle, I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself. Go do your job," she said as she went inside and closed the door in front of him.

~o.O.o~

He should have done this days ago. He should have been smarter and he should have been here days ago but his duties as Oliver Queen got in the way of him being _the Arrow_. With Bella on his mind, he wasn't _the Arrow_ but Oliver Queen playing dress up and Oliver Queen was stupid. Oliver Queen asked too much of his _girlfriend_ when she said she wanted him to train her. What a great way to start a relationship and what a way to fuck up.

It was expected, of course, he thought he had gotten better with people skills ever since returning from the island. He believed he was doing better. But it was clear that he still needed to work on it. Oliver was going to apologize to Bella later - if she even wanted to see him. He would have gone right now, as he had seen Diggle drive her home just a few minutes ago, but seeing as he was currently in a tree waiting to pounce on Peter Warren, it was a bit impossible.

And the reason why he thought he was an idiot was that Peter Warren always had the upper hand when it came to tormenting Bella with the lightning. Oliver lost the fight with Peter - not that it was much of a fight anyway - because it was dark and Peter had the upper hand, he had seen him coming a mile away, even with Oliver trying to be as stealthy as possible. The best way to catch him was to wait and ambush him.

Maybe this whole thing with Bella was a mistake. Doing what Oliver did could hurt her in many ways possible and he didn't want to do that to anyone who was close to him. Granted, Bella had some training and the whole shield thing was amazing and handy, but what if she got hurt by something else he did? Like what happened today? What if he had hurt her on an emotional level and what if she didn't want to see him again? What if Bella would hurt him back?

The sound of a motorbike pulled Oliver out of his thoughts and back to alertness. He shifted a little on the branch he was hiding out on and waited. It took maybe five minutes before Peter Warren showed up and Oliver was willing him to come and stand underneath the branch that was hanging over the tent Peter had been sleeping in. Oliver hated it when he was right.

The moment Peter had gotten off the bike and removed his helmet, he had grabbed his phone and called someone. Oliver couldn't really hear what was being said, but the man's intonation made it clear that he was talking to his employer. _Good_, Oliver thought. He wanted a conversation with Peter's employer himself, but it wouldn't end up the way that person would have wanted.

Oliver needed to time this right as he needed to jump Peter and secure his hands behind his back so he wouldn't have a target to point at. Then, Oliver needed to knock him out and he hoped Diggle wasn't too far away yet. There was no way that Oliver could transport an unconscious person on his bike and look innocent at the same time.

When Peter was in position, Oliver leapt off the branch, knocking Peter to the ground and quickly turned him around to secure his hands with a ziptie. Before Peter could respond, Oliver hit him on the head with his bow, knocking him out. Oliver was surprised how easy that was.

He took his phone out of his pocket and noticed that he had several missed calls by Felicity and Diggle - Oliver was going to endure a shouting reprimand later - and called Diggle. "Hey, where are you?"

"_Five minutes away from Bella's house. You know, your girlfriend who you had working hard?"_

Oliver winced. "Come back, I have a surprise."

"_Oliver…"_

"You can yell at me later. Come back so we can transport Peter to a secure location and question him before dropping him off at A.R.G.U.S."

"_You caught him? How?"_

"I just did." When Oliver heard screeching tires, he hung up and continued to sit down on Peter's back while he waited for Diggle to return.

When he saw the car parked in front of the house, Oliver grunted and got off Peter's back before he hoisted the guy over his shoulder and started to make his way towards the car.

"You know that once he comes to, we can't stop him from freeing himself," Diggle said as he leaned against the car with the trunk open.

"Sure we can," Oliver said as he unceremoniously dumped the unconscious Peter in the trunk and closed the trunk. "We have a thing called sedatives."

"Where do you want me to take him?"

"That abandoned warehouse near the border of the Glades. It's a neutral area and we won't get shit from A.R.G.U.S."

"You're calling them on this?"

"What do you want me to do? Call the police? Have him arrested?" Oliver said as he tiredly rubbed his face. "You know just as much as I do that this guy doesn't belong in a normal prison as he'll escape."

"Fine." Diggle said as he got into the car. "See you there."

Oliver watched the car speed off the property and looked at the house before he made his way back to his bike to follow Diggle to the warehouse.

~o.O.o~

Bella limped as she made her way from her bath to her bed, too tired and sore to put more on than wrap her robe around her as she crawled into bed. She had taken a few Tylenol earlier but now all she wanted was sleep. She would apply her ointment, but she was already hurting too much to move any more than needed to breathe.

It was getting dark by the time Oliver arrived at Bella's house. He had done some thinking and he had decided to apologize, but couldn't leave Peter before A.R.G.U.S had taken him into custody - which only happened after Oliver got the information he needed out of the guy and he really _- really - _took pleasure out of beating Peter.

Oliver was grateful when Charlie let him inside, albeit with a watchful eye, and made his way upstairs to Bella's bedroom. He walked to her side and sighed as he fell to his knees. "I am so sorry," he said softly as he gently caressed her hair.

She released a sigh at his touch and turned her face towards him before opening her eyes. "Hey," she smiled drowsily. "Where did you go?"

"I had some thinking to do," he replied as he kept caressing her hair. "How are you feeling?"

"Just need some rest and I'll be good to go in a day or two," she replied. "How'd your thinking go?"

Oliver shrugged. "The usual," he replied. "But… I caught Peter."

"That's good. You coming to bed now?"

"Do you want me to? After what I've put you through?"

Bella reached for his hand and pulled him towards her. "Yes. I do. You could have talked to me but you didn't and I don't want to now. Just come to bed Oliver," she whined.

Oliver got to his feet and kicked off his shoes before turning towards her dresser and got the ointment out. "Let me at least get you some proper pain relief," he said as he crawled on the bed.

She hummed a response as she closed her eyes, pleased for both the coming pain relief and his comforting presence. "I will kick your ass one day for this," she promised in a slurred mumble.

"And I will let you," Oliver said as he carefully pulled away her blankets and slowly started to put the ointment on her legs first. "I promise."

"Good. And you owe your friends apologies too," she added, smiling into her pillow.

"Yeah yeah," he smirked as he finished with one leg and then got the other.

"And you should watch me work to know what my ethics are really like," she continued.

Oliver gently pulled her robe off her shoulders and started to massage the ointment onto her back. "I think that the biggest problem today was that I thought you were ready when you asked me and I realized that I was wrong. I should not have let you run that far."

She grimaced at the movement, curling back up immediately after, breathing through the discomfort until it begun to ease and decided to give Oliver some home truths about the night. "I believe that I am - but not after that kind of run so soon. I don't know if Diggle has been giving you reports or not. I'm guessing not because otherwise you would have known that you would have needed to stop me more than try to push me like you assumed I would need, simply because I need to have fun when I work out.

"For some reason, I just can't help but try to have fun when I'm deliberately putting myself through that kind of work out. When I get over this little incident, stick around and watch. Maybe you'll realize a few things not only about me, but also yourself. Diggle had to drag me out of there tonight, and it wasn't the first time he had to make me stop myself before I over did it. Like I did tonight. You thought I would need someone to push me to keep going, but I tend need is someone to pull me back, regardless of whatever bitching I may throw out. That's why I asked for you because I was kind of tired of listening to Alfred's mantras."

Oliver was quiet for a moment as he kept rubbing the ointment in, especially around her shoulders. "How about we keep the running with Diggle and I'll help you indoors. I'll try to loosen up and I don't doubt that you're committed, but you know…" When he was done, he put the ointment on the nightstand and pulled the covers back over her.

Grabbing his hand to keep him with her, Bella pulled him down onto the bed to wrap his arms around her. "Where do you think you're going?" she asked.

"To take a shower," he said as he softly kissed her. "I haven't had the chance yet to freshen up after today."

She hesitated for a moment before letting go. "Okay. Just make sure you come back," she said as she settled back down. "I think I have some unscented wash and shampoo in my bath that you can use. I doubt you want to go around tomorrow smelling like sandalwood and vanilla."

"I don't know," Oliver grinned at her. "Would you like me to smell like sandalwood and vanilla tomorrow?"

"I don't care if you smell like ass tomorrow. Just do whatever so that you come to bed already," she pouted up at him. "It's been a long enough day. Let's not make it any more difficult."

"Okay, back in a minute," Oliver relented with a smile on his face as he headed to the bathroom and bumped into Charlie on his way and he didn't look all too happy. Oliver had been glad that Charlie had let him into the house earlier, but it had been with reluctance. "She's doing better now."

The older man's eyebrow twitched as he stared him down before glancing over at his daughter's bedroom door. As much as he hated knowing what might be going on behind it, he said nothing as it was her life and decisions to make mistakes with. Not that he was sure that Oliver Queen was one, yet. As fond as he was slowly becoming of the boy, he was still firmly undecided about him in the relationship category with Bella.

"Uh huh," he let out after a full minute and gave a single nod. "She doesn't know _when_ to stop and that is why she never works alone."

"She uhm, just told me," Oliver said with a nod. "I promise it won't happen again."

Frowning, Charlie wasn't sure what to make of that knowledge. "She _told_ you?" he repeated skeptically.

"Yes, sir. She said that she tends to need a person who stops her while working out." Oliver cocked his head in question. "She normally doesn't tell anyone?"

He shook his head as he tried to understand his daughter as she is now that she isn't working with him anymore. "No. It's not just with her training. It's with all things. Bella - tends to be insanely focused. She graduated college early. The papers call it driven, but its more than that. Bella was lacking something that I don't know what, but maybe…" he trailed off in thought as he considered the boy and her new friends. "I understand you had a difficult experience on that island son. However that doesn't justify today. I'll let it slide this once because I know you weren't aware of that girl's downfall. If it wasn't for her status, Bella would have been hospitalized for this many times over the years. If she is going to be doing whatever she is with you, you need to _control_ her. She is strong, don't get me wrong. She is capable of many things that even _I_ am afraid of knowing, but she is also my little girl."

"I will be more aware of it, sir. I don't like to see her like this either," Oliver said as he scratched his head. "As for controlling her, I think that's the wrong word to use, she's her own person, she just needs to have guard rails in place and speed bumps to slow her down. She doesn't need to be controlled, she needs to be managed." Oliver hated the word control, it was this whole idea of her not being in control over her own actions that he hated, because it was easily managed.

"No Oliver. She needs a partner," Charlie corrected him, with a slight smile. "Go take care of her. Make sure she gets another plunge in that ice bath in the morning. She'll be needing it. I'm going to hit the sack since I have to catch a flight to Amsterdamned tomorrow night," he grimaced.

Oliver grinned. "Have a good flight, sir. Don't get tempted by all those pretty ladies in Amsterdam and stay away from the pot; I want Bella's father to return in one piece."

"This is why she always did the traveling. I don't have the patience for your generation anymore."

"But you're a natural, sir, one frown from you and you'll have them grabbing their private parts for protection," Oliver winked as he moved past Charlie to take a quick shower. After he was done, he walked back to Bella's bedroom wearing only his boxers and put his clothes on the chair before crawling into bed with her. Bella was already fast asleep and all he could do was cuddle up to her, gently, and wait for sleep to take him too.

* * *

><p><strong>AUTHORS NOTE: There are only TWO more updates after this! So we are sending this message out to the readers of <em>Gambling Hearts<em>... If you have any questions regarding this story, please feel free to leave them in a review or send a PM. We will answer your questions in Q&A format in the final chapter update (Chapter 17). Looking forward to your questions! Much love, Meeko & Buggy.**


	16. 16: Rule 23

**Disclaimer: We own nothing from Arrow or Twilight. Actually, we **_**really**_** don't want to own **_**anything **_**of Twilight to be honest, but wouldn't mind having Oliver tied up in one of our beds...alas, but a fantasy, so all we can do is pretend, with words. The plot is ours alone.**

**~o.O.o~**

Oliver had heard Charlie sneak out of the house early that morning and while Bella was still asleep, he went downstairs to make her some breakfast with high proteins, eggs, a toast with turkey breast on it and some tea to make sure she wouldn't get hyped up on caffeine. Looking at his handy work, he sighed. He definitely needed to learn to cook better things and to make a decent breakfast.

He took the tray upstairs and set it down at the end table before crawling back in bed and softly kissed her. "Good morning," he whispered in her ear. "How are you feeling?"

"Breakfast in bed again? You're going to spoil me Oliver Queen," Bella yawned as she tested her muscles as she stretched out but groaned as they protested too much. "Still sore but no worse than expected. Nothing a few Motrin through the day can't help."

"Yep, let me get some ointment on you first before you handle a mug of steaming hot liquid, don't want you to burn yourself because you've got the shakes." He reached for the jar and smiled at her.

"I'd only get the shakes really if you were planning on doing something else to my body," she smirked at him as she reached for a slice of toast and eyed him innocently.

"If I'd do something else to your body right now, you'd be in agony all the way through and we both wouldn't like that very much," he mused, his mind already going to places it shouldn't go.

Bella pushed the covers off of her as she moved to sit up. "Believe me I know. Anyway, you said that you caught our demented friend, Thunderbolt. How'd that go? Where'd you find him?" she asked as she shifted her robe to cover herself.

He opened the jar and started to rub the ointment on her legs. "I found him right here on the property," Oliver replied as he made sure that he put some extra around her knees. "I went to his house first. I know that Roy had been sitting on it for a few days but I went inside and found a map of the property with some areas crossed off. All I needed to do was to find his camp and wait. And I got him."

"You make it sound so easy," she sighed as she closed her eyes, fighting against the spasms as he worked on her legs. "What's next? We're going to the club after breakfast, right?"

"You're not going to do anything and I'll stay here if I have to make sure you stay here and relax."

"Oliver...What do you really expect me to be able to do when I will barely be able to do anything but walk - if that? Pass me the coffee please?"

"We don't have comfortable chairs at the club or the basement," Oliver snorted as he handed her the mug of tea. "I know you're itching to get out of the house, but please take it easy."

"You have the armchair in the office upstairs that isn't that damaged. Have Chuck bring it down for me," she commented as she went to take a sip but stopped short as she caught the scent and looked down. "What the hell is this shit?"

"Tea," Oliver said smugly. "I don't want you to go and bounce around all hyped up on caffeine."

Bella's eyes shot up and glared up at him, not moving a muscle otherwise. "You're not the boss of me. I want coffee."

"I am the boss of you. No coffee."

She huffed as she looked at him incredulously. "Right. No. That's not going to last long. If you thought I was a bitch before, you don't want to know me without my coffee. Get me coffee. Not this - garbage. Seriously Oliver."

Oliver laughed. "No coffee. If you get impossible when we're at the club, I'll use a tranquilizer on you."

"Wrong. You won't use shit on me. You'll get me a fucking coffee."

"Nope. Herbal teas. I already sent Felicity on a shopping trip so we can boost your inner system a little bit."

Bella narrowed her eyes on him and smiled to herself because the woman had already had to experience her _without_ her caffeine already, but she wouldn't attempt to get the girl in trouble with her boyfriend. No, she will have to force the girl to suffer her own wrath under Oliver's watchful eyes. "Felicity will too suffer greatly," she said with glee, eyes twinkling in excitement.

Oliver grinned as he got off the bed and started to get dressed. "Fine, you're coming with me. Fancy a motorcycle ride?"

"If we leave soon, sure. Get me something to wear while I finish your lovely breakfast with shitty beverage options," she smiled up at him.

Oliver closed his pants as he walked to her closet and found some sweatpants and a t-shirt and vest and laid them out on the bed. "Nice, comfy clothes. You don't want to bother too much with getting dressed as it'll hurt. If you do want to stay tonight, you can get a change of clothes."

"Sure. Sure," she replied, having been more focused on her food and watching him dress. While their relationship had gotten off with a rocky start, she would have never been able to deny that the man was attractive. It'd only been a few weeks since they've actually begun talking to get to where they were but it felt longer for her as she had actually been in Starling City for some time before he was even willing to face her after agreeing to accept her help with his club. Clearing her throat, she spoke up innocently, "Um, Ollie?"

"Yeah?" Oliver said as he pulled his shirt over his head.

"Can you strip down and get dressed again for me?" she asked sweetly, looking at him hungrily and tortured.

"Oh, oh I would," Oliver said empathically after seeing the look on her face. "But not while you're looking at me like that because I'd so jump you and ravage you completely. And I can't. So I'm not."

Bella finished the food and set the plate aside. "You suck. I have to get my kicks somehow if I can't have any participation," she pointed out as she gingerly climbed out of bed to dress. Once done, she started to stretch out her muscles while the ointment had begun to take away the worst of the pain in attempt to ease some of it when it wore off. "You aren't planning on taking the motorcycle back, right?"

"Of course not," he smiled at her. "I'll drive you home in a comfortable car and I'll take it easy on the bike as well."

"Good. I don't need to come home with my ass hurting too," she replied. "That's about the only area that doesn't hurt - surprisingly."

They arrived at Verdant after taking a leisurely pace on the motorcycle and brought bagels for everyone who was present, but Oliver wouldn't mind eating all those bagels by himself either. Roy was busy checking the stock for tonight, glad to be opening - again - and hopefully this time without any trouble, the insurance was being annoying and stopped covering them for bulletholes.

"Morning!" Felicity smiled bubbly as Oliver and Bella walked down the stairs. "How are you feeling, Bella?"

"I've been worse," she replied as she shoved her finger into a hole in the armchair. "Is there any coffee? The caffeine Nazi over here refused to get me any."

"Not for you," Felicity smiled as she winked at Bella and handed her a cup of herbal tea, with a little post-it note underneath it saying _Caffeinated herbal tea, let's switch cups when he's not looking I'm having coffee xoxo_

Sniffing at the lid, Bella smirked at the message as she crumbled it up. "Fucking EVIL PEOPLE AROUND HERE!" she screamed out, turning as much as her body allowed to make sure her objections carried over to her boyfriend.

"Yeah, yeah," Oliver said as he sat down at his workbench and resumed making new arrows - something he had started the day before.

"So, what's the plan?" Felicity said as she spun in her chair, facing Oliver. "Are you going after some people or are you going to spend the day doing nothing or…"

"I'm making arrows," he said as he held up an arrowhead.

Bella rolled her eyes as she curled up on the armchair next to the girl, setting the tea down. "He's going to be incredibly boring today and on my nerves. You will hate me because I won't have had my coffee because _someone_ wants to be an asshole and doesn't understand exactly who or what he is messing with when he comes between a person and their coffee."

"It's not that bad," Felicity grinned as she swapped the mugs around. "Anyway, have you made a decision yet if you want to continue working with us?"

"I thought yesterday would have been an answer enough? What the fuck else do I need to do?" she snapped, shifting her glare from her over to Oliver. "Is there some fucking handshake or test? You already got my DNA, so that's done. What else is there? My signature in blood?"

"Say yes?" Felicity batted her eyelashes at Bella before nudging the mug with coffee.

Scoffing at something so ridiculous, she looked at her suspiciously. "Yes? Really? Tell me what do you want?" she questioned, her hand reaching out for the cup and angrily sipping, barely able to hold back the sigh of contentment as the warm, robust flavor of the coffee hitting her.

"Both Oliver's and Roy's suits are made out of leather and kevlar, I thought we'd design you a cool suit as well."

"No," Oliver said, shaking his head. Bella in leather? He would not survive that.

"Yes. Because she needs to be safe too and she, like you, needs to hide her identity because she's freaking bulletproof. So we're going to find her an outfit."

"Ignore him. Yes! I get a superhero outfit too? Awesome," Bella grinned as she got excited. "Show me what you have in mind. If it's leather, can you throw in a whip and flog to take home too?"

"Oh, but we can go shopping for that when you're feeling better," Felicity grinned. "Laurel would love it too and I believe there's a convention soon… all that leather… and whips and other… _toys._"

"Felicity!" Oliver said shocked. "What the hell!"

"What?" Felicity said innocently. "I have a kinky side too, you know. Barry loves it."

"Oh, I don't want to know," Oliver shook his head and looked to the stairs where Diggle descended the stairs. "Say something about that, Diggle."

"No, I'd rather not. TMI." Diggle replied.

Bella struggled out of the chair to her side and poked her in her ribs. "Ignore them and show me your ideas. I'm not going to remain out of commission as long as Oliver hopes me to be. He's not invincible and he's out there. I'm more invincible than he is," she said, purposely keeping her back to him.

"Definitely something dark, to distinguish you from Roy and Oliver," Felicity said with a nod. "Maybe some green accents to play off of Oliver… maybe a jacket? Although that would be a terrible idea as that'd get in the way when you have to fight."

She raised eyebrow and nodded slowly. "Yeah. These new nimrods back there have hoods. I want one too, but I need my hands exposed if I need to touch them to shield them from any kind of assault like up in the office. That would cause a problem with their suits too because I had to pull Oliver's hood off as I didn't see any way other skin I can get to from behind him. Maybe a small window or something on their arms that would give me access? Like the lace threading Chuck has? Does it open up easily if I were to pull on it?"

"Yeah, I suppose that we can modify something for you to have easy access to the guy's skin without pulling their hoods off, I mean, it's easier with Roy's outfit and seeing as Oliver really likes it that he's not showing any skin - as that's safer, we'll think of something," Felicity said with a nod. "It's a good thing you've got small hands, loads more possibilities."

"It's not like I'm giving road head here. I'm just looking for them not to turn into Swiss cheese from someone who's trigger happy," Bella snickered.

Felicity giggled as she opened a folder on her computer. "Well, this is what our outfitter came up with when I said we needed something more feminine this time, there are a few pictures, and you'll just see if there's something there that you like. We could also mix and match."

Leaning over her shoulder to look, she grunted as her muscled rejected the idea. Pointing out to one image, she liked immediately, she nodded. "That one, but maybe a little less padding. It's not like I need it. I also like these pants with it," she added as she pointed to another photo. "Add in a hood and it should be all matchy matchy with the boys. But no pink. I will kill you if you get anything pink."

"Aw, that's a shame…" Felicity said as she handed Bella a package. "Barry made Roy and Oliver their masks and he sent me this for you."

"Your boyfriend has a deathwish," she said, eyeing it, refusing to touch it as she backed away to her armchair. "I may have that pink rocking chair in my room, but it's the only thing of my mother that my father managed to keep over the years and I promised never to get rid of it. Don't - just, don't. Tell him thanks, anyway."

"I'll dye it." Felicity said as she put the package back onto the desk and swapped back their mugs so she could have a sip of coffee. "Do you have combat boots you're comfortable walking and running in?"

"Felicity, she is the CEO of Swan Security, I'm pretty sure she has some decent combat gear to work with," Oliver was amused as he took a few of his made arrows to the other work bench to sharpen them to his liking.

"Right." Felicity typed something on her computer in an email, enclosing the pictures and sent it. "There. That order is in."

Bella looked over and watched Oliver as he worked on his project for awhile, much like Alfred was doing. Letting out a sigh, she groaned, both in boredom and aggravation from her body. "Is there any information you got out of Thunderbolt? What's going on with him? Alfred! Is there any coffee upstairs?" she asked with the sweetest smile she could muster.

"I think that Oliver wants to keep you decaffeinated for today and I am not opposed to that idea," Diggle said as he made his way over to the girls. "And Peter…"

"Not today," Oliver warned Diggle, he didn't want Bella to deal with more than she already dealt with. "Soon."

"She has a right to know, Oliver."

Oliver looked at Bella. "Do you really want to know now?" He knew that she was going to say 'yes', and he couldn't blame her, but he wanted to go easy on her, especially today, and with him already restricting coffee access, maybe he should tell her.

She had been watching the exchange through narrowly slitted eyes as her own anger grew. If she hadn't already been feeling so bad, she would have already likely reacted much sooner but she was currently limited. "Of course. You keep secrets that are about me from me, we have problems. It's disrespectful and I am sure if I knew something about you, you'd be beyond pissed off if I kept it from you regardless of whatever condition you were in."

Oliver sighed and nodded as he got to his feet and dragged a chair with him before sitting down in front of her. "Peter was quite the talker after we caught him, more acting like a little weasel, to be honest. He didn't know quite why he was sent to spend nights at a time at some mansion making a lot of noise, but he got paid really well for it." In all fairness, Oliver didn't believe that Peter was that much of a threat but yet, he handed him off to A.R.G.U.S without any hesitation. "And his employer made the mistake of revealing his identity, even though the man is one smart guy who's done a lot to you to get you to flee back into the arms of his son."

Bella sat there, staring at him as her eyes tightened slightly and relaxing some repeatedly as he spoke. Each word brought a new micro expression to her face as it slowly revealed to her the answer to the question of why some random person would be so interested in her if it wasn't for her apparent ability. As he quietly finished speaking, she sat back as her breath slowly let out through her nose audibly, closing her eyes as she attempted to suppress the rage that grew.

For the first time in ten years, she never wanted someone dead so much in her life. Sure she had wished death for the parties that inflicted pain, suffering upon those she'd encountered, but never before in her personal life. "Move," she said through gritted teeth as she leaned forward to sit up, pushing him out of her way.

Shaking her head and rolling her shoulder against the protests it was making, she paced the floor by their weapons storage, running her hand through her hair. Processing that her ex and his father were the ones behind a decade of nightmares. As she turned for another pass, her eye caught one of Sara's bo-staffs that she had left behind. Grabbing it, she rotated it a few times, swinging it as if trying to take off some imaginary head but not quite feeling satisfied until it struck the solid pole of the salmon ladder, causing her pause. Blinking, it only made her stop for just the moment before she began to swing with enough force that soon, the wood of the staff weapon began to splinter from the repetitive impact against the cold steel.

"Mother fucking assholes, scumbag, cocksucking, bottom feeders that doesn't deserve to share the same oxygen," she grunted with each strike before falling to the floor when the stick broke, crying.

Oliver had watched her closely, he wasn't going to stop her, he knew what it was to be angry, to be disappointed and to be afraid all at the same time and she had to get it out of her system. He wasn't far away when she fell to the floor and was quickly by her side to put his arms around her and gently caressed her back. "I'm sorry, Bells," he said softly. "I am so sorry."

"Why can't they just move on? I did? Why can't they?" she asked as she tucked her face into his shoulder.

"We're going to find out, I promise. I don't know how, but we are going to find out," he whispered. "And they are going to pay."

"I want them dead Oliver. I know how you feel about that but I don't care anymore. This is ten years, pieces of my life over ten years they stole that I can never get back. Who knows where I would have been if they hadn't done what they did, but I want them, Carlisle and Edward Cullen, six feet under," she said decisively.

"As I said, they're going to pay, but we have to be smart about this and we will take things slowly, we'll be prepared once we know everything."

"Felicity went out to tell Laurel," Diggle said as he approached the two. "But might I offer a suggestion?"

"Go ahead," Oliver nodded.

"We need intel. Like… other intel than we can get from files or the internet or hacking. How about we send Barry up there for a few days?"

Bella looked up from Oliver tiredly. "What can he do?" she asked. "He a doctor or something?"

"Apart from being a CSI for the police department?"

"Isn't that like sending a red flag?" she questioned.

"Yeah, but Barry… he's the person who got caught in the explosion from that particle accelerator and at the same time he got struck by lightning. He's a very very very fast runner. Like… a flash."

"So take him with you next time you decide to run from your apartment to the club. I'm not doing that shit with you again," she said.

"Barry lives in Central City and he's so fast that even I can't keep up with him. Nor a bullet, really. He can outrun bullets," Oliver humorously stated.

She picked her head up to look at him with sarcastically. "Right, okay. Well, you call Sonic and get his ass over here to chat. Tell him to bring my ass coffee if he wants to be my friend. I'm tired. I hurt. Don't try shoving tea at me again. I don't _want_ it."

"Want me to drive you home?"

"Are you deaf? I just want coffee," she snapped as she punched him in the gut. "Now help me up."

Oliver was amused as he rose to his feet and gently pulled her to her feet. "Alright, you can have your coffee, would you like us to go to a coffee shop or shall we serve you the awful tasting one we serve upstairs?"

"Coffee," Bella repeated, feeling like a broken record for not having her full daily dose of her regular _medication_. Really though, it wasn't for _her_.

"Fine," He lifted her up in his arms and started to walk towards the stairs with her. "Coffee it is, you've earned it."

Diggle followed behind them as he hid his own grin, muttering, "We all earned it."

"Heard that," Oliver warned Diggle as he opened the door to the club.

"You'll learn. I did," he admitted, smiling knowingly, though he was a bit disappointed that Oliver had caved so soon. He and Felicity had already experienced Bella without any coffee as he had attempted to convince her to try to give it up when he started his training with her but by the end of day one, Laurel was laughing at them. The end of day two, Felicity was begging him to stop the insane idea of switching the woman to tea. The fourth morning, Diggle had greeted her at her door with a two cups from her favorite coffee shop just for her as an apology.

Oliver set Bella down on a bar stool and smiled at Roy. "Give us the whole pot of coffee, please. Oh, and a mug."

"Oh, thank god." Roy said and quickly set down a mug and put the pot next to it on the bar. "I was afraid that we were going to have explosions downstairs."

"It's not that bad," Oliver marvelled.

"No, because you're afraid that she'll hurt you." Diggle pointed out. "You gave in way too easily."

"She deserves her coffee today, I might not be so friendly tomorrow."

Bella snorted as she sipped her cup. "That's what you think. While you were off playing businessman at the office, we were dealing with Batgirl here while Diggle was training her. He lasted three days," Roy explained to him. "_Three_ days."

"And what happened the fourth day?"

"I got _two _cups of a wonderful coffee blend from Africa that my favorite shop serves that has very subtle hints of dark cocoa and citrus tones in it. Absolutely _orgasmic_," she said as she smiled, thinking about it.

"Bella Swan, the coffee aficionado," Oliver said with a smile on his face. "Who would have thought."

"Seriously, Oliver, she could open up her own coffee shop and give the bigger stores a run for their money with the knowledge she possesses," Diggle chipped in.

She shrugged at the compliment, but said nothing as it was something she had considered in the beginning then decided to go with the firm as she had. "There were more than enough coffee shops in Seattle between Starbucks and the espresso shops littering the corners. I couldn't see the point of another and risk the chance at failing."

"Starling City isn't Seattle," Diggle replied before pouring his own cup of coffee.

"I have Verdant and you to keep me busy during the week while Oliver has Queen Consolidated," she threw back at him.

"Are we going to do anything special today?" Roy asked as he looked at Oliver. "Because to be honest, I'm pretty excited that we're opening again and I don't want to leave this place unattended."

"No, we're staying in," Oliver replied with a nod. "I might even come and help out behind the bar."

Bella smirked as she looked up at Roy. "Shall we alert the media? Might pull in some extra girls wanting to see that. The club certainly could use the extra money with the show."

"What?" Oliver laughed. "I know how to work the bar, you know."

"I'm talking about my hot boyfriend that people wouldn't _expect_ to be working it," she smiled at him. "Are you really that dense?"

"Well, I have been accused of being a playboy airhead more often than not so… yes?" Oliver tried to go for humor this time.

Diggle tried to hide his surprise. Did she really referred to Oliver as her boyfriend? When did that happen? They were together, sure, but they had never spoken openly about their status. Maybe it happened during dinner, the pictures that were in the paper spoke volumes, Oliver had looked incredibly smitten by Bella on them and that was something that he tried to hide during the day or when he knew there were cameras around. But it was good, that the two of them had finally put a label on them as a couple, Oliver deserved to be in love and happy.

"Back up a second here," Roy said as he looked at them curious and excited. "Boyfriend?"

"Yes. It's official. No need to run to the tabloids because they claimed it from the beginning, so just watch yourself otherwise I'll have your balls bronzed on a shelf in my house before the end of the night," Bella threatened as she leveled her eyes on the kid.

"Ouch," Roy said as he shielded his private parts with his hands. "So even with you being all official now, he still dares to deny you coffee? That's harsh."

"I believe congratulations are in order," Diggle grinned.

She looked at the two of them like they lost their heads. "We are dating, just boyfriend girlfriend. Like high school shit. It's not like he proposed," she said. "Calm your livers. It's really not front page material. It's no different than what we were last week. Right?"

"Oh, it's very different from last week," Diggle said with a nod. "You've put a label on you two as a couple now. Soon, you'll move in with each other."

Bella looked over at Oliver for help as he seemed to have remained a little too silent for her liking. "Would you like to help me out here?"

"The best way to ignore them is to actually ignore them," Oliver said amused. "Who cares that we're official now? This is our thing, she's my girlfriend, get over it."

"I'm going to text Felicity right now," Roy said all giddy and got out his phone.

She reached across the counter as she glared at him, attempting to snatch the device from his hands. "I swear to you Chuck, I will let whatever madman turn you into Swiss cheese for the rats…That girl will be worse than a Teletubbie on crack."

Roy had jumped back out of her reach as he typed the message and then held up the phone. "Message sent!"

"I'm outta here!" Diggle announced, quickly grabbing his jacket to make his escape as Bella stood slowly from her seat, glaring at their club's manager. "I'll have Laurel put a notice in the paper that we'll be hiring a new manager soon…"

"You are _so_ dead…" she growled.

"Bella, stop." Oliver said as he put a hand on her shoulder and pushed her back down in the chair. "Enjoy your coffee."

She bit her lip as she eyed her cup, sneered at Roy, then glared at Oliver, ready to slap the snot out of him for treating her like a child. But after going all morning with only a few sips from Felicity's cup, as sweet as she was for that, she looked at her mug longingly. Then the anger from everything would suddenly flare and the closest targets were her boyfriend and manager who just kept finding reason to antagonize her. "Decisions, decisions," she mused.

"He's just very excited that we call each other boy and girlfriend, he's harmless."

"I'm not-" Roy objected but decided to make himself scarce when Bella looked at him again.

"You have to calm down, Bella," Oliver said as he caressed her back. "It won't help your recovery if you make sudden movements."

"I'll kick both your asses later," Bella muttered as she happily took a sip of her coffee.

* * *

><p><strong>AUTHORS NOTE: Remember! If you have any questions for us, this is your last chance to get them in! They will be answered when the next and last chapter is posted for <em>Gambling Hearts<em> if there is anything you would like to know!**


	17. 17: Bete Noir

**Disclaimer: We own nothing from Arrow or Twilight. Actually, we **_**really**_** don't want to own **_**anything **_**of Twilight to be honest, but wouldn't mind having Oliver tied up in one of our beds...alas, but a fantasy, so all we can do is pretend, with words. The plot is ours alone.**

**~o.O.o~**

**An Epilogue**

**A Few Months Later**

****~o.O.o~****

"Are you nervous?" Felicity asked Bella as she saw her stroll into the area wearing her new outfit. Over the last few months the guys had been training with her and get her up to speed with some weapons and their rules and regulations. Well, Ollie's rules and regulations. And today was finally the day where Oliver allowed Bella to come with; they were going to take down another friendly Glades' arms dealer. Whenever Oliver picked one up, another one popped up its head to take the former dealer's place. Together with the drug dealers, they were the cockroaches of Starling City.

Oliver had made sure that Felicity knew all the facts before telling him about it, he was nervous, Felicity could tell. He didn't want to have any surprises today because it was Bella's first trip out. The target was an abandoned warehouse at the edge of the Glades; interestingly enough the same warehouse where Oliver had taken Peter Warren for questioning six months ago and satellite imagery showed that there were at least twenty people inside that warehouse. Quite possibly all wearing weapons, but what else was new? It would be a simple in and out job, restraining the criminals, calling Captain Lance - oh yes, he got promoted - and disappear into the night.

Bella adjusted her breasts in the leather of her suit before fluffing out her hair dramatically. She knew it was needless but she was doing it ease the anxiety in the room. "I feel fine Robin," she smiled as she looked up at her through the reddish violet bangs of her wig and mask. Grinning as she held her arms out and spun in place, modeling her full new look for her. "I look hot. Don't I?"

"Absolutely," Felicity grinned. "If you don't slay those people with your staff, your looks will do it."

"Can we go?" Roy asked, getting a bit antsy from the waiting around. He was more than ready to bash in some skulls, it had been a while and he needed to get rid of his anger that had building up since that text message from Thea, about her being on a completely different continent with her _father_.

"So, Diggle will drive us to the warehouse in the van, where he then waits for us at a safe distance," Oliver said as he grabbed his bow.

"What?"

"Your family needs you in one piece. You're a father now."

"You can't bench me."

"We've already discussed this, Dig, and you agreed." Oliver looked at his friend who reluctantly gave in. He then looked over to Bella - who looked incredibly hot but he didn't allow it to be a distraction. "Are you done flaunting?"

Bella smirked as she rested her hands on her hips and eyed him. "That depends. What do you have planned after this mission is completed?" she asked curiously, egging him on before she moved to get her weapon.

"Hopefully not planning a funeral," Oliver deadpanned as he walked towards the rear exit of the basement that'd bring them to the back of the nightclub.

"In that case, I should bring something else," she murmured as she went over to one of her cases that she added to their collection and pulled out her favorite long distance rifle and ammunition, sliding it into a carry bag. It would be easy to piece together if she had to use it from the rooftop that she was assigned to standby on and smiled as she brushed past her boyfriend.

Oliver was about to balk against her getting the rifle out but Diggle pushed him towards the exit. "She knows not to kill people and it has a silencer, let it go." He knew Oliver wasn't happy with guns as they generally made a lot of noise, but over the last months, Diggle had taken her to a shooting range and saw how she handled those guns - quite adequately. They had been talking to Oliver about allowing it, and he said 'no' most of the times. But since he'd put Bella on the roof while he and Roy would go in, it wouldn't be much of a problem as they wouldn't have to run around like headless chickens.

Roy pushed past everyone and sat in the van before they had even made it out of the exit. Even though Roy had gotten his anger under control, Oliver was still very aware of his issues and as long as they didn't get in the way of rational thought, it would be alright but the current reason of Roy being angry was a personal one; one that could make him a liability.

It was only a short drive going to the warehouse and they gathered on the roof, with Oliver pulling Bella along as he used his bow as a pulley. According to Felicity, there was a skylight above the warehouse where they could oversee the situation and make last minute tweaks to their plan if needed.

"I'll take the back and distract them so that Roy can sneak in through the front and surprise them. Bella, you make sure nobody leaves." There were a lot of bodies in there, usually it wasn't a problem for Oliver but since it was a huge space and a lot of places to hide behind. It wasn't going to be an _easy_ one. "Break the glass if you have to, but only once the fighting has started downstairs so they won't really notice you're up here."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll come in and save your asses," Bella murmured as she peered into the window before backing away to set up her sniper rifle. "Don't worry your pretty face. I got your back."

"Good," Oliver said before he abseiled off the building and found a way to sneak inside. He could easily take out the first few people he encountered as they weren't aware of him being there yet but that all changed when someone walked in on him choking someone out. He flung a dart at that person, knocking him out. Unfortunately for Oliver, the guy crashed into a pile of boxes when he dropped to the floor.

Oliver rolled away for shelter when guys came running at him before deciding that he needed to get to higher ground. He scrambled to his feet and pushed the first guy away with his bow for space before blasting a few arrows in the people following him up. They were idiots - never follow a guy with a bow in his hand even if you carried a gun.

After he took off, she finished putting together the rifle, loading it and carried it over to the skylight, eyeing it carefully as she walked around to take in all of its features. Grinning triumphantly at an opening in the side for an air duct, she set it down beside it as she got down on her knees to look in to see the angles the opening offered. Satisfied by the location, she moved the rifle into place then went to continue setting up a bungee rope to drop her down into the warehouse in case she might need to make a personal appearance.

As Roy had entered through the front and taken out his fair share of people, only the main players were gathered in the middle of the warehouse. Oliver jumped down from the ledge he was on and steadied his bow on the main arms dealer.

"Hey man, what are you doing that for?" Joseph Minnardi cackled as he playfully raised his hands above his head. "Taking out my people?"

"This was your last day of freedom," Oliver spoke but had to jump away when one of Minnardi's cohorts became trigger happy. Roy managed to shoot the guy in the leg but it was getting a little bit messy. Oliver ran around and went up only to jump down on one of the guys and hit him in the head with his bow. He was about to throw a dart at the next one but was surprised by his face and hesitated long enough for the guy to whack Oliver on the head with his gun.

Bella had been watching with an eagle's eye and her finger pulled back on her trigger, striking Minnardi's man in the elbow. She pulled back on the lever to load the next round as she searched for her next target. Her shots kept beginning to shoot at the knees and elbows of whomever approached Oliver's or Roy's blind spots while they were distracted with someone else. "I can't keep you both covered for much longer," she called over the radio. "Pick one of you or stay close."

Not missing a beat, Oliver launched himself at the boy and pinned him down to the ground. "Get Minnardi, secure him!" Oliver called out to Roy as the blonde boy was putting his feet underneath Oliver and pushed him off of him. Oliver landed on his feet with a flip and then strung an arrow up his bow, not releasing it but pointed at the boy.

"Minnardi is secure, the rest is down!" Roy called back and Oliver quickly glanced over to see Minnardi out cold but with his hands tied behind his back.

Oliver then looked at the boy he was keeping his arrow on. "Barbara, I need a positive ID on this guy," he spoke softly in the radio. "Don't freak out." Oliver was so angry that he wouldn't even mind killing this guy as their standoff involved him now holding a gun at Ollie, but didn't pull the trigger. Oliver was wondering why the guy hadn't let off a bullet yet. "Now, please, before he decides to shoot me?"

Bella blinked as she saw the face, hesitating herself. "It's Jasper," she muttered. "Edward's brother. I don't want him dead, but at the same time...Do what you have to. I can take out his shooting arm from here," she responded, her voice firming up as she filled herself with resolve.

Oliver sighed, he'd rather have killed the guy. Instead, he quickly lunged forward, took Jasper's arm and twisted it, making Jasper drop the gun and cry out in pain. Oliver then kneed him in the stomach and put zip ties around his wrists, binding Jasper's hands together. He then knocked him out with his bow. "Let's go," Oliver growled as he walked towards the rear exit where he had come in the warehouse with and dialed Captain Lance's number. "Got you a gift at exit 30 in the Glades," he said into the phone and then hung up. "Do you want me to get you or are you coming off that roof on your own?" Oliver asked Bella.

"On my way down," she said as she threw the rope over the window opening in the emergency hatch and slid down. Her eyes searched Oliver out, quickly finding him as she passed by the unconscious bodies and out the door, hoisting her sniper bag over her shoulder. "How the fuck did Jasper get caught up with Minnardi's group?" she asked as her cell phone let out a familiar meowing tone, sparking her curiosity to check her message as they left the area before the police arrived.

"Next time, put that phone on silent incase someone calls you or messages you when we're busy," Oliver put an arm around her as they walked towards the van. "Well, with his record, maybe he just escalated because he couldn't find the thrills anymore…" He replied and took a deep breath. "I really hope that he's the only Cullen in town."

"Yeah, yeah," Bella placated him as she read the message, slowing in her step as she turned her eyes up to him as they grew large with anxiety.

"What is it?" Oliver asked concerned. "Is Charlie okay?"

She shrugged as she handed him her phone. "I'm sure he is but it's not that. I don't think you'll get your wish though."

Oliver took the phone and blinked at the message. There was no way that this was real, all he knew was that Bella, and now his, nightmares were far from over.

_Bella, Esmé told me they were going to move to Starling City 'to help the poor'. Stay safe, please! Rose._

* * *

><p><strong><em>And there is the end of <span>Gambling Hearts<span>! We hope you enjoyed it! We are currently working on the sequel, so please don't fret on this cliff hanger. We planned this torture for you intentionally. The resolution over the Cullens we can promise will be handled in the next story. Gambling Hearts was really more about Oliver and Bella's coming together as their history and backgrounds in the story forced them to take that 'gamble' on themselves. The sequel is currently named, Raising the Stakes, if that gives you any indication of where the plot may lead._****_  
><em>**

**_There are many avenues that you can choose to follow us for updates on our stories, get teasers, or other tidbits. You can follow us on FFnet for author alerts for new postings, but you are also welcome to join our Facebook group or friend us, or you can subscribe on our WordPress blog on our individual sites. We also tend to share many hints and jokes about the stories _as_ we write on our Twitter feeds, hence the #chuckleattack if you follow either of us. _**

**_If you follow us already, the #chuckleattack is something that came up while writing and proofreading Gambling Hearts. We realized that we had written that Oliver 'chuckled' A LOT. Like way more than he should have and it something that is so out of character for him, that we had to go back and see just how often we did that. It ended up being a game, so now whenever we catch one of us writing Oliver chuckling, we immediately announce the #chuckleattack._**

**_All social media information can be found on our profile page. Feel free to subscribe, follow, or join if you love our little Arrow/Twilight crossover universe we created here! We have more planned but in order to find out, you'll have to stick around!_**

**_Much Love,_**

**_Meeko & Buggy_**


	18. 18: Authors Q&A

We would like to thank all of you wonderful readers and reviewers for sticking with this story, we're glad that Oliver and Bella amuse you so much and we love reading your thoughts about what would happen in the chapters to come.

We would like to take the time now to answer the questions that were left for us in the reviews; questions that haven't been already answered in the story.

~o.O.o~

**Countryfan4life asks: **_**Was Jacob and any other members of the pack around in Bella's life in Forks/La Push? **_

Buggy: Jake was Bella's childhood friend, so probably yes :) Keep your eyes open, they will probably show up eventually!

Meeko: I definitely am game to see Jake. I'd say it's a fair _Bet_.

**Countryfan4life asks: **_**How did all the Batman references and the Captain Planet reference come about? What made you choose to use them and not something else?**_

Meeko: Initially, the Batman references started with a nod to someone who helped name the story, working in nicknames for the other characters around the one. As far as _Captain Planet_, that's something that came from real life for me. I like assigning unique and off the wall ringtones that I can find for people that raises eyebrows or make a random person laugh or smile by bringing up an old memory. In fact, one of my ringtones for someone on my own phone is from _Dinosaurs_, the "Not the Mama" Baby.

**Highlander348 asks...many questions**…

Buggy: Oh Highlander… What to do, what to do…

Meeko: Hang on, I need to get comfortable for Highlander's questions. There is a lot after all.

**Question: **_**I would love to see more of Bella's powers in action in the sequel as she becomes the Arrow's vigilante partner right? **_

Buggy: Bella's power is a passive power, but you'll most definitely see it in action in the sequel.

Meeko: We have some twists planned for her that we are excited about. *grins evilly*

**Question: **_**Can she work on using her powers in new ways? If Bella can shield others by touching them then perhaps she can work on shielding them without touching them. Like she asserts her will and her physical shield extends outward like a bubble or something similar to for example Susan Storm aka the Invisible Woman in Marvel comics and the reboot of the upcoming Fantastic Four movie due next year. Basically a force field of sorts. All powers can evolve and grow stronger. Barry in the new Flash TV series will get faster and eventually be able to vibrate though objects and even travel in time as the writers have hinted at. **_

Buggy: You make a valid point, but Bella's gift is a natural one. She's already been through the changes of her ability when growing up. It's stable now, and it does exactly what it does; protect her while she protects the ones she loves.

Meeko: With each strength comes setbacks, keep that in mind. We're seeing in The Flash, that Barry needs to eat a lot more to keep his energy up because he passes out due to the hypoglycemia from his new ability. Bella has her share of difficulties from overuse, as well as other complications.

**Question: **_**So it makes sense that Bella has the potential to find new ways to use her metahuman powers if she knows how. StarLabs can help with that to! Please give it some thought! Cheers!**_

Buggy: She already knows how it works, it comes natural to her. Team Arrow (and Barry) have studied it and they're just in awe of how it works. They will not tell StarLabs (or A.R.G.U.S.) about Bella's ability for safety purposes; both groups would love nothing better than to exploit her.

Meeko: And _that _is something that is explored more in _Raising the Stakes_. What will happen is that we will see more of the ability in action in the story compared to in _Gambling Hearts_ where we only had a taste of it.

**Question: **_**Oh I hope they move in together! They are in love! Why should they not? :)**_

Buggy: You're talking about two people with severe trust issues and more issues if you dig even deeper. It's good for them to have their separate corners (i.e. house and apartment) so they can be alone when they want to. Granted, Oliver spends a lot of time in his old house because it's where Bella is, but moving in? Maybe. Sometimes it takes years for people to move in with each other.

Meeko: *too busy grinning about blue balls to answer*

**Guest user **_**commented... What? Only two more updates? Aww i love this story, i dont want it to end :'(**_

Meeko: But it doesn't have to end! Stick around! Sign up with FFnet and follow _meekobuggy _for author alerts!

Maybe same guest: **Guest user **_**commented... Will there be a sequel? If so would Bella and Oliver get married? Have a family? C:**_

Buggy: It's too soon for Oliver and Bella to get married and have a family. They'd be awesome parents though, don't you think? Yes, there will be a sequel and even a third story to make things complete (we like to do things in threes…)

Meeko: We do rounding things in trios, don't we? With us, it's always a safe _Bet_ that when we end the first story on a major cliffhanger that there is definitely more on the way, and something big. Can you see them having a family at some point in the trilogy? With this kind of life? Hmm… *grins*


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